"2024 M&A Outlook: Rebounding from Decline to Rally"

Amazon terminates pursuit of iRobot, JetBlue Airways calls off merger with Spirit Airlines, while the market anticipates other big-name M&A deals for 2024. Barron's reporter Jacob Sonenshine discusses the regulatory challenges in the M&A landscape, particularly in the airline and pharma sectors, highlighting the difficulties faced by JetBlue in acquiring a small discount airline due to regulatory and financial constraints. Despite regulatory hurdles, the M&A outlook for 2024 is expected to improve compared to the previous year, with a projected increase in global M&A activity.