With M&A activity hitting a seven-year high in 2014, we're officially in the midst of a merger boom

With M&A activity hitting a seven-year high in 2014, we're officially in the midst of a merger boom. New research from Goldman Sachs Group Inc.GS -0.38% shows the acquisition frenzy is being fueled more by the rallying stock market than by the piles of cash sitting in corporate coffers. So far this year, companies have used cash to finance 60% of the price of deals on average, according to Goldman. That's down from about 72% last year and an average of about 67% over the past 15 years. In fact, the percentage of cash that an acquiring company used to pay for a target company is at its lowest level since 2001, according to a Goldman Sachs research note. Read the full article: (VIEW LINK)