PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- A federal bankruptcy judge has approved the sale of the idle Old Town pulp and paper mill to a New York investment group for nearly $19 million.

Gov. John Baldacci says the sale to Patriarch Partners is expected to close Monday.

Patriarch plans to reopen the mill, which ceased operations in June amid rising costs for fuel and materials. Its owner, Red Shield Environmental, laid off about 160 workers and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Baldacci says the mill, which had a work force of 400 when Georgia-Pacific shut it down in 2006, has great potential as a pulp mill and a producer of alternative energy.