NZ's Silver Fern Farms, Wrightson to go to mediation

WELLINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - New Zealand meat processor Silver Fern farms said on Tuesday that it had agreed with the country's biggest agribusiness PGG Wrightson (PGW.NZ) to go to mediation over their failed merger agreement.

Wrightson last year pulled out of a plan to buy a 50 percent stake in Silver Fern Farms and the two have since been disputing an amount of compensation to the meat processor.

The two companies had agreed to appoint a retired judge to mediate an agreement in a short timetable.

PGG Wrightson shares closed at NZ$0.99 on Monday.