Sunbelt�, the place to go to buy or sell a business, announces the recent sale of eight franchised territories in the United States. New offices will open in Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina and Oklahoma. "Since we began franchising in 1993, Sunbelt has steadily grown throughout the U.S. and abroad," stated Ed Pendarvis, Founder and Chairman Emeritus. "We look forward to working with our franchisees to develop and grow the Sunbelt brand in new areas." The new territory owners are Dana Frazier, Will and Kendall Counties, IL; Andrea Ewart, Howard County, MD; Bonnie Taylor, Prince George's County, MD; Ken Higbee, Detroit and Macomb County, MI; Kipp Krukowski, Detroit and Wayne County, MI; Richard O'Bey, Greenville, NC; and Steve Thompson, Muskogee, OK. Sunbelt specializes in helping individuals and companies buy and sell businesses in all four areas of the private business market: Main Street, Franchise Sales, Franchise Resales and Mergers & Acquisitions. Sunbelt is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merrymeeting�, Inc. (MMI), a Cleveland-based investment firm specializing in the acquisition and development of franchised brands. MMI currently operates four franchise systems with more than 1,200 franchised locations worldwide. To learn more, please visit either www.sunbeltnetwork.com or www.merrymtg.com.