Jon L. Merry

Jonathan Lee Merry, MCMEA, CBA, ASA, is an accomplished business broker, mergers and acquisitions advisor, business and asset appraiser, and entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience helping business owners build value, plan successful exits, and transition their companies to new ownership.

Jonathan is a business broker and M&A advisor with The Business House, Inc., a family-owned and operated firm with more than 35 years of experience serving business owners and prospective buyers throughout the Southeast. The firm specializes in representing privately held businesses and bringing qualified buyers and sellers together while guiding both parties through the complexities of a business transaction.

Throughout his career, Jonathan has worked with companies ranging from approximately $500,000 to $25 million in annual revenue. His experience encompasses mergers and acquisitions, business sales, exit planning, business valuation, machinery and equipment appraisal, deal structuring, negotiations, due diligence, financing coordination, and closing.

Jonathan’s professional credentials include MCMEA, CBA, and ASA, complementing more than two decades of hands-on experience in business brokerage, valuation, and machinery and equipment appraisal. His appraisal background provides an additional level of expertise when evaluating businesses with significant tangible assets and determining how those assets contribute to the overall value and structure of a transaction.

A significant part of Jonathan’s work begins well before a business is placed on the market. He works with owners to evaluate where their company stands today, identify opportunities to increase value and marketability, and develop an exit strategy designed around their personal and financial objectives. When the time is right to sell, Jonathan guides his clients through the entire process—from valuation and market positioning through buyer negotiations, due diligence, and closing.

Jonathan also brings the perspective of a business owner and entrepreneur to every engagement. Having owned and operated multiple businesses within the service industry, he understands firsthand the challenges, risks, responsibilities, and personal commitment involved in building a successful company. This experience allows him to approach an engagement not simply as a broker or appraiser, but from the perspective of someone who understands what it means to have years of work and personal investment tied to a business.

Jonathan is a longtime member of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers (GABB) and the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA). He is also a GABB Lifetime Phoenix Award recipient, recognizing his sustained professional achievement in business brokerage and mergers and acquisitions.

One of Jonathan’s greatest strengths is his ability to bring all sides of a transaction together and keep a deal moving toward the closing table. Business acquisitions often involve sellers, buyers, lenders, attorneys, accountants, landlords, and other advisors, each with different priorities and objectives. Jonathan has developed a reputation for working effectively with all parties, identifying solutions when obstacles arise, and negotiating transactions while keeping his client’s goals and interests at the forefront.

For Jonathan, a successful transaction is about much more than achieving a purchase price. It begins with understanding what the business owner ultimately wants to accomplish. His goal is to help owners maximize the value of what they have spent years building, structure a transaction that meets their financial and personal objectives, and successfully transition into the next chapter of their lives.