ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — A bankruptcy judge in Delaware gave Tops Friendly Markets the go-ahead Monday to acquire Penn Traffic Co.’s 79 supermarkets in the Northeast.

Tops, a 76-store chain based in suburban Buffalo, said U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Peter Walsh approved its offer to pay Penn Traffic $85 million in cash and eliminate about $100 million in unsecured claims against the estate of the bankrupt Syracuse-based grocer.

The sale, expected to close by Friday, will deepen Tops’ roots in New York and Pennsylvania and extend its reach into Vermont and New Hampshire. The East Main Street, Norwich, P&C will come under Tops ownership.

“We are very pleased that the court has approved our comprehensive bid,” Frank Curci, Tops’ chief executive, said in a statement.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer hailed the deal as “the best possible outcome to ensure the vast majority” of Penn Traffic’s workers “stay employed at decent wages and that the vast majority of stores stay open.”