Following a near 12-hour hearing Tuesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett approved the sale of Moore-Handley Inc. to House Hasson Hardware, which plans to eliminate more than 200 workers at the Pelham plant.

Despite an upped bid by Bostwick-Braun Co., Hasson’s bid of $14.5 million was approved, and employees could be out of job as early as this week.

Moore-Handley, which has been heavily affected by the housing crisis, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the summer after announcing the company owed lender CIT Group $16.6 million.

The company reported losses of more than $1.5 million in 2007, and already more than $2.5 million this year.

There had been hope that Bostwick-Braun would retain as many as 200 employees if its bid was expected, but Bennett said the outcome under Bostwick could have been the same as that of Hasson’s considering Moore-Handley’s bleak projections.