Beacon Roofing Supply on Tuesday adopted a poison pill defense to prevent a $11 billion hostile takeover by billionaire entrepreneur Brad Jacobs through his company QXO. The defense strategy creates a roadblock for Jacobs' attempt to become a big player in building products distribution through QXO,

As expected, QXO responded immediately following Beacon’s rights agreement announcement, calling the move “shareholder unfriendly” and a “poison pill” aimed at blocking QXO’s all-cash offer, which is set to expire at the end of Feb. 24..

QXO Inc. has launched a hostile takeover bid for Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. after the board of the building products company rejected its offer as too low.