Mediation lifts shares

SHARES in Sigma Healthcare have surged after the pharmaceuticals group announced it was dropping legal proceedings against the company behind the Chemist Warehouse chain.

Sigma announced yesterday that it and the My Chemist/Chemist Warehouse Group had entered a “formal negotiation period” in an attempt to resolve their dispute.

They had also agreed to a “confidential and binding mediation and arbitration process” if they failed to overcome their impasse in the initial talks, the group said.