Try one line?

.travis.yml

@@ -229,6 +229,7 @@ jobs:
         - pushd deps/c-ares && ./configure -C --prefix=$BUILD_LIBS && make -j4 install && popd
         - autoconf --version
         - automake --version
+        - ls -l deps/libuv/m4
         - pushd deps/libuv && ./autogen.sh && ./configure -C --disable-static --prefix=$BUILD_LIBS && make -j4 install && popd
         # libev builds a manpage each time, and it includes today's date, so it frequently changes.
         # delete to avoid repacking the archive

deps/libuv/configure.ac

@@ -38,10 +38,7 @@ m4_ifdef([AM_PROG_AR], [AM_PROG_AR])
 AC_PROG_LIBTOOL
 m4_ifdef([AM_SILENT_RULES], [AM_SILENT_RULES([yes])])
 LT_INIT
-AX_PTHREAD([
-    LIBS="$LIBS $PTHREAD_LIBS"
-    CFLAGS="$CFLAGS $PTHREAD_CFLAGS"
-])
+AX_PTHREAD([LIBS="$LIBS $PTHREAD_LIBS" CFLAGS="$CFLAGS $PTHREAD_CFLAGS"])
 AC_CHECK_LIB([dl], [dlopen])
 AC_SEARCH_LIBS([kstat_lookup], [kstat])
 AC_SEARCH_LIBS([gethostbyname], [nsl])