It's about to be the perfect storm for big-time M&A deals to finally take off
Joe Biden
President Joe Biden delivers remarks about his administration's approach to artificial intelligence during an event in the East Room of the White House on October 30, 2023, in Washington, DC.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Halfway to the weekend! A new (sort of) candidate has entered the debate over the top holiday song. Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" hit Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart for the first time in its 65-year existence. Could this be the beginning of the end for Mariah Carey's ubiquitous "All I Want for Christmas Is You"?

In today's big story, we're looking at why corporate America isn't afraid of the Biden administration's anti-trust stance anymore and how that's leading to a wave of M&A.

What's on deck: 

But first, let's make a (big) deal.


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The big story

Ain't no stopping M&A

Joe Biden
Joe Biden

Big deals are coming. And companies are betting there's nothing anyone — including the highest office in the land — can do to stop them.

Shortly after US President Joe Biden took office in 2021, he looked to make good on his promise of scrutinizing corporate dealmaking, particularly in Big Tech.

But as he enters the final year of his initial term, the floodgates for big M&A deals have opened, writes Business Insider's Matt Fox.

The strict anti-trust stance of Biden and Lina Khan, the Federal Trade Commission chief he appointed, hasn't stopped a wave of deal announcements since September that total more than $170 billion.

A key turning point was Khan's failure to stop Microsoft's $69 billion bid to buy Activision Blizzard.

Like the first one to take a dip at a pool party, a court ruling in favor of Microsoft and against the FTC in July was a signal for companies and their bankers to join the fun.

Now everyone from Cisco to Exxon Mobil is getting in on the action with pricey transactions of their own. Even Warren Buffett is reportedly considering helping to finance a high-profile deal in the energy space.

But the starkest example of how bold dealmakers have gotten is a potential tie-up between giant health insurers Cigna and Humana, Matt writes. The deal is a longshot to get approved, but the fact both sides are even trying shows corporate America's ambivalent views toward the Biden administration's anti-trust agenda.