Just glad I sold all but 5K of them just before the...

Just glad I sold all but 5K of them just before the placement...news keeps getting worse.

Disastrous Allco deals haunt Sigma
George Lekakis

Source: AP
TROUBLED drug maker, Sigma Pharmaceuticals, has prompted more speculation over its financial position after delaying the release of its full year accounts.
The company, which markets products in Australian under Herron and other brands, was scheduled to unveil its financial results tomorrow.
In an ASX filing the company stated that the accounts would be released on or before March 31.
While Sigma has flagged massive asset writedowns in the result, investors are also focusing on the fallout from the drug maker's deals with the collapsed Allco Finance Group.
Sigma's board is yet to disclose whether the drug maker has taken over responsibility for any Allco-related loans or liabilities under deals it had with the failed finance company.
The loans and liabilities run into hundreds of millions of dollars and have the potential to boost Sigma's net debt by more than $500 million.
The Herald Sun believes that Sigma is in talks with ANZ, Westpac and other banks on refinancing at least $40 million of loans that Allco provided the company.
These loans, known internally as the Gateway program, were used by Sigma to deliver ``competitive funding'' for pharmacists to expand their businesses.
The loans were not included in Sigma's last reported balance sheet because the company's board judged that Allco "bears the majority of the risk".
Allco went into administration in November 2008.
The Gateway loans were first disclosed in notes to the Sigma interim accounts issued on September 14 last year - the same day the company mailed information to shareholders about a $297 million capital raising.
But the fallout of Allco's collapse may be even more profound for Sigma.
Uncertainty surrounds the future accounting treatment of another "off-balance sheet'' deal between Sigma and Allco relating to the former's customer rewards program.
According to disclosures made by Mr de Alwis in a presentation to investors on September 7, the rewards scheme owed 1500 pharmacists about $518 million worth of points.
It is one of the biggest business-to-business rewards programs in the country, with pharmacists receiving one point for every dollar they spend on Sigma products.
In 2009, the program generated $1.3 billion of sales for Sigma.
Sigma directors also classified these rewards liabilities as ``off balance sheet'' because Allco had maintained an investment in the rewards program.
There are significant business risks for Sigma if the program stopped honouring points.
If the program became unviable, Sigma would run the risk of losing the support of pharmacists who sell its products.
In notes to the interim accounts, the board acknowledged the prospect of taking over Allco's financial obligations relating to the rewards scheme and Gateway.
"In the event that Sigma purchases Allco's investments, this would trigger consolidation of the underlying trust that carries the Sigma Rewards debts and/or the trust that carries the loans receivable from individual pharmacists,'" Sigma stated in the first-half accounts.
"In effect this would bring back on balance sheet all the debtors within Sigma Rewards and loans within Gateway as well as an equivalent external debt."
The company told investors last year that group debt would be about $89.6 million following the capital raising.
But this would rise above $600 million if the rewards points were brought on to the balance sheet.
According to the Sigma Rewards website, points can be redeemed by pharmacists for exotica such as hovercraft and skiing holidays to Dubai.
Companies involved in the scheme include Qantas, Audi, BMW and ANZ Bank