Symantec Corp. signed a definitive agreement to acquire Vontu, a company which specializes in Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions, for $350 million. Symantec has already been shipping Vontu's software as an add-on to its own Mail Security 8300 series appliances for the past year and a half.

“The combination of Symantec’s existing portfolio and Vontu’s leading products and dedicated team enables us to deliver a central component of our Security 2.0 vision to customers − information-centric security that protects both the device and the information itself,” said Tom Kendra, group president, Security and Data Management Group, Symantec.

Apparently, Symantec intends to pack Vontu's software within its Symantec Endpoint Protection suite. Vontu's Data Monitoring and Prevention solutions stop sensitive data in an organization from being sent outside through email, web or IM.

“By joining forces with Symantec and building upon their strength in enterprise security and storage solutions, we will be uniquely positioned to help customers answer the important questions as to where their confidential information is stored, how it is being used, and how best to prevent its loss,” said Joseph Ansanelli, CEO, Vontu, Inc.

Founded in 2001, Vontu employs a staff of about 160 and booked $29 million in sales in 2006. Symantec Corporation was founded in 1982 and started off by publishing Q & A, a dual-mode product that was both a word processor and a database. Symantec bought off Norton Utilities, created in the mid-1980s by software engineer Peter Norton. They are now included in Norton Systemworks.

The acquisition is expected to be completed before the end of this year.