No later than the next business day after filing the articles or certificate of merger, the surviving corporation or entity 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 corporation or entity is to be located, if the surviving corporation or entity will be required to maintain a registered office in Georgia, or where the registered office of the merging corporation or entity was located prior to the merger 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: 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 corporation or entity 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.