(a) Together with the articles or certificate of merger or share exchange, the surviving or acquiring corporation shall deliver to the Secretary of State an undertaking (which may appear in the articles or certificate of merger or be set forth in a letter or other instrument executed by an officer or any person authorized to act on behalf of such corporation) that the request for publication of a notice of filing the articles or certificate of merger or share exchange and payment therefor will be made as required by subsection (b) of this Code section.

(b) No later than the next business day after filing the articles or certificate of merger or share exchange, the surviving or acquiring corporation shall mail or deliver to the publisher of a newspaper which is the official organ of the county where the registered office of the surviving or acquiring corporation is to be located, if the surviving corporation will be required to maintain a registered office in Georgia, or where the registered office of the merging or acquired corporation was located prior to the merger or share exchange in any other case, or which is a newspaper of general circulation published within such county whose most recently published annual statement of ownership and circulation reflects a minimum of 60 percent paid circulation a request to publish a notice in substantially the following form:

"NOTICE OF (MERGER) (SHARE EXCHANGE)

Notice is given that articles or a certificate of (merger) (share exchange) which will effect a (merger) (share exchange) by and between _______________________ (name and state of incorporation of each of the constituent corporations) has been delivered to the Secretary of State for filing in accordance with the Georgia Business Corporation Code. The name of the (surviving) (acquiring) corporation in the (merger) (share exchange) is _______________________, a corporation incorporated in the State of ______________. The registered office of such corporation (is) (will be) located at _______________________ (address of registered office) and its registered (agent) (agents) at such address (is) (are) _______________________ (name or names of agent or agents)."

The request for publication of the notice shall be accompanied by a check, draft, or money order in the amount of $40.00 in payment of the cost of publication. The notice shall be published once a week for two consecutive weeks commencing within ten days after receipt of the notice by the newspaper. Failure on the part of the surviving or acquiring corporation to mail or deliver the notice or payment therefor or failure on the part of the newspaper to publish the notice in compliance with this subsection shall not invalidate the merger or share exchange.