CHARLESTON, S.C. - A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge on Thursday approved the sale of armored vehicle maker Protected Vehicles Inc. for $6 million, a newspaper reported.

Judge David R. Duncan said at a hearing Thursday in Charleston that the sale to Patriarch Partners LLC was in the best interest of creditors, the Post and Courier reported on its Web site.

Patriarch Partners also owns Summerville-based American LaFrance, which makes fire trucks and other emergency vehicles.

The investment company plans to put $5 million into Protected Vehicles and resume production, Patriarch chief executive Lynn Tilton told the newspaper. Tilton said she expects to have “a few hundred” employees on the payroll within six months.

Messages left with officials at Patriarch Partners, Protected Vehicles and American LaFrance were not immediately returned Thursday night.

Patriarch Partners’ offer surpassed a $5.2 million bid by Protected Vehicles’ competitor Force Protection Inc.

Protected Vehicles filed for protection from creditors in February after those creditors threatened to force the company into bankruptcy court for liquidation.

Protected Vehicles was awarded a $37.4 million contract by the U.S. Marines in 2007 for 60 bomb-resistant vehicles. Ten were delivered by Christmas but the initial vehicles failed to meet the Marines’ required specifications.

In its bankruptcy petition, Protected Vehicles listed $24 million in assets and $58 million in liabilities, with the U.S. Marines as its largest creditor. A statement filed with the court estimated Protected Vehicles’ future gross monthly income at $6.6 million and monthly net income at $248,000.

Protected Vehicles was founded in 2005. The company was sued last year in federal court by another local manufacturer of armored vehicles, Force Protection, which is based in Ladson, about 10 miles from Protected Vehicles.

That lawsuit named Protected Vehicles and its founder, Garth Barrett, a former Force Protection president who resigned to start the new business. The suit claims computer fraud, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair trade practices and breach of contract.

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