Meta May Scrap Manus Acquisition Deal

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Meta is preparing to unwind its acquisition of AI startup Manus. China's National Development and Reform Commission made a determination on April 27th to prohibit the investment, requiring the parties involved to revoke the transaction.

This acquisition was first announced in December last year, with the Wall Street Journal reporting the deal size to be $2.5 billion. Meta has since begun integrating Manus-related technologies into its own systems, which means that unwinding the transaction involves not only terminating the agreement but also reversing the剥离 of data and technology.

Sources familiar with the matter say that the initial timeline given by the Chinese side is several weeks, and they have asked for Manus' Chinese assets to be restored to their pre-transaction state. If the transaction cannot be fully unwound, penalties against Manus and Meta will also be considered.

On the financial side, some of Manus' investors have already received exit proceeds, including Benchmark, a U.S. venture capital firm; and former Asian investors such as Tencent, HSG, and ZhenFund plan to cooperate as Meta proceeds with the unwinding. The real challenge remains in the division of assets - how technology, data, personnel, and already paid funds can be returned to the pre-transaction state, which will determine whether this advanced acquisition can be concluded within the regulatory timeline.