AJINOMOTO TO BUY OUT JOINT FOOD VENTURE PARTNER Ajinomoto Co Inc <AJIN.T> said it will sign around end-April to buy the 50 pct of <Knorr Foods Co Ltd>, capitalised at four billion yen, that it does not already own from its U.S. Partner <CPC International Inc>. Ajinomoto will also acquire 50 pct each of CPC's two sales subsidiaries and six production units in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand, he said. The total cost of the acquisition is 340 mln dlrs, the spokesman said.