Under the deal, Hopkinton, Mass.-based EMC will pay US$28 a share, or almost $2.1 billion for Bedford, Mass.-based RSA, according to the companies. The acquisition is expected to be completed late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter of this year.

"The mandate is clear from our customers: We need to be able to ensure that the information is secure and encrypted" with identity management and other protections, said Joe Tucci, EMC's chairman, president and CEO. "These are the things that RSA brings to EMC."

The technology company that integrates security with information management "will be a huge winner in the technology marketplace, and that company is EMC," he said during a conference call late Thursday afternoon.

"EMC is where information lives, and with RSA, it's where it will live securely," Tucci said.

Earlier, in a statement, Tucci said the deal "signals a fundamental change in the landscape of the security market."