Yes, but a founder deciding to be acquired means they wish to stop having operational control and intend to cash out and exit.

An IPO isn't an easy exit strategy - it takes years to become S1 ready and it takes years to sell off your equity stake if you were using an IPO only to exit.

That's why if you want operational control you fight hard to remain private as long as possible, and if you want to exit you M&A yourself. This makes IPOs only useful if you need to raise more capital than is available in the private market.