Mobile data protection vendor SafeBoot has performed a U-turn by agreeing to be acquired by security giant McAfee in a $350m (£172m) cash deal.

Only last month, the Dutch firm was pushing ahead with plans to go public after appointing UBS Investment Bank to oversee its flotation on the Euronext Amsterdam.

But privately-held SafeBoot has now reached a definitive agreement with McAfee, which said the acquisition would extend its Security Risk Management vision. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

McAfee said the acquisition would hand it pole position in the multi-billion data protection market, which it argued is still highly under-penetrated.

The security giant added that it has over 100 million desktops under management and that SafeBoot would complement its existing offerings.

Dave DeWalt, chief executive at McAfee, said in a statement: “With the acquisition of SafeBoot, McAfee becomes a leader in the fast-growing $1 billion encryption market and we will be able to offer a complete data protection solution that combines SafeBoot’s device, full-disk and content encryption with McAfee’s data loss prevention solutions.

“This combination helps advance our Security Risk Management strategy and extend our leadership at the end-point.”

Gerhard Watzinger, chief executive at SafeBoot, added: “We view McAfee as the leading dedicated security company, and we believe this combination will result in tremendous opportunities for SafeBoot, our customers, and our employees.

Further reading:

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McAfee signs chief executive

Security Alliance in SafeBoots