A judge last week approved the $17.25 million sale of Doral Financial Corp.’s insurance arm to Popular Insurance LLC, which won a competitive auction earlier this month for the business, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The order was signed on Friday by Bankruptcy Judge Shelley C. Chapman. According to prior court filings, Popular Insurance won a 28-round auction on May 12 against Anglo-Puerto Rico Insurance Corp., which had served as the opening bidder with a $10.75 million offer. The two companies were the only qualified bidders. The judge had approved procedures for the auction early last month, including a $250,000 breakup fee that goes to Anglo-Puerto Rico since it served as the lead bidder but lost the auction. Doral had told the judge in court filings that Doral Insurance Agency LLC would likely have experienced a “rapid and substantial decline” in value if it wasn’t sold quickly.
