Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. has adopted a poison pill defense as the building products company pushes back against a hostile takeover approach from QXO Inc.

Building-products distributor QXO is taking its all-cash offer to acquire Beacon Roofing Supply directly to shareholders after being rebuffed on several occasions. QXO publicly launched a tender offer to acquire Beacon early Monday,

Beacon Roofing Supply said on Tuesday it has adopted a limited duration stockholder rights agreement, commonly known as a poison pill, following a hostile takeover bid by QXO. Beacon is issuing one preferred share purchase right for each outstanding share of its common stock to stockholders by way of a dividend,

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.

QXO’s $11 billion pitch to buy Beacon Roofing touts the company’s AI experience as well as the overall housing shortage in the United States.

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..

M&A specialists are eyeing a robust list of U.S. takeover candidates, with a buoyant economy, strong buyer appetite and a potentially looser regulatory regime seen driving more deals.

Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. has started soliciting interest from potential buyers as it looks to fend off an $11 billion takeover bid from rival QXO Inc., people familiar with the matter said.

Meanwhile, QXO maintains that its offer of $124.25 per share is 17% higher than the Beacon stock has ever traded; represents a 37% premium over the 90-day unaffected stock price; and represents a 26% premium to the stock the day before the Wall Street Journal’s Nov. 18 report that QXO was pursuing a deal.