Also. . .

* Canal Plus, which Vivendi plans to acquire and combine with Seagram Co.’s film and music units, said first-half sales rose 20.1% to about $1.7 billion as subscriptions to the channels of Europe’s largest pay-television company grew. Subscription revenue rose 13.7%, and advertising and sponsorship revenue rose 45%. Other revenue, including from sports broadcasting and film library sales, rose 52%. Vivendi plans to buy Seagram and the 51% it doesn’t own in Canal Plus to complete its transformation from a water utility to one of the world’s biggest media companies.

* Coram Healthcare Corp., which provides home health services, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from its creditors. The Denver-based company has been struggling with high costs, management changes and the inability to pay holders of more than $250 million in notes. In documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., it listed $389.8 million in assets and $416.4 million in debts.