<PAGE>

                            [Composite Restatement - as Amended through 6/12/00]

                                                                      Exhibit 4B

================================================================================


                               RIGHTS AGREEMENT

                                    between

                       CARPENTER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION

                                      and

             AMERICAN STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY, successor to

                   MORGAN GUARANTY TRUST COMPANY OF NEW YORK

                                 Rights Agent

                      __________________________________

                        Dated June 26, 1986, as Amended
          as of May 11, 1989, April 23, 1996 and as of June 12, 2000

                      __________________________________


================================================================================
<PAGE>

                               TABLE OF CONTENTS
                               -----------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                                     PAGE
                                                                                                     ----
<S>                                                                                                    <C>
SECTION 1   CERTAIN DEFINITIONS......................................................................   1
SECTION 2   APPOINTMENT OF RIGHTS AGENT..............................................................   3
SECTION 3   ISSUE OF RIGHT CERTIFICATES..............................................................   3
SECTION 4   FORM OF RIGHT CERTIFICATES...............................................................   5
SECTION 5   COUNTERSIGNATURE AND REGISTRATION........................................................   6
SECTION 6   TRANSFER, SPLIT UP, COMBINATION AND EXCHANGE OF RIGHT CERTIFICATES; MUTILATED, DESTROYED,
            LOST OR STOLEN RIGHT CERTIFICATES........................................................   6
SECTION 7   EXERCISE OF RIGHTS; PURCHASE PRICE; EXPIRATION DATE OF RIGHTS............................   7
SECTION 8   CANCELLATION AND DESTRUCTION OF RIGHT CERTIFICATES.......................................   8
SECTION 9   RESERVATION AND AVAILABILITY OF COMMON SHARES............................................   9
SECTION 10  COMMON SHARES RECORD DATE................................................................   9
SECTION 11  ADJUSTMENT OF PURCHASE PRICE NUMBER OF SHARES OR NUMBER OF RIGHTS........................  10
SECTION 12  CERTIFICATE OF ADJUSTED PURCHASE PRICE OR NUMBER OF SHARES...............................  17
SECTION 13  CONSOLIDATION, MERGER OR SALE OR TRANSFER OF ASSETS OR EARNING POWER.....................  18
SECTION 14  FRACTIONAL RIGHTS AND FRACTIONAL SHARES..................................................  20
SECTION 15  RIGHTS OF ACTION.........................................................................  21
SECTION 16  AGREEMENT OF RIGHT HOLDERS...............................................................  21
SECTION 17  CERTIFICATE HOLDER NOT DEEMED A STOCKHOLDER..............................................  21
SECTION 18  CONCERNING THE RIGHTS AGENT..............................................................  22
</TABLE>

                                      -i-
<PAGE>

<TABLE>
<S>                                                                                                    <C>
SECTION 19  MERGER OR CONSOLIDATION OR CHANGE OF NAME OF RIGHTS AGENT................................  22
SECTION 20  DUTIES OF RIGHTS AGENT...................................................................  23
SECTION 21  CHANGE OF RIGHTS AGENT...................................................................  24
SECTION 22  ISSUANCE OF NEW RIGHTS CERTIFICATES......................................................  25
SECTION 23  REDEMPTION...............................................................................  25
SECTION 24  NOTICE OF CERTAIN EVENTS.................................................................  26
SECTION 25  NOTICES..................................................................................  27
SECTION 26  SUPPLEMENTS AND AMENDMENTS...............................................................  27
SECTION 27  SUCCESSORS...............................................................................  27
SECTION 28  BENEFITS OF THIS AGREEMENT...............................................................  28
SECTION 29  SEVERABILITY.............................................................................  28
SECTION 30  GOVERNING LAW............................................................................  28
SECTION 31  COUNTERPARTS.............................................................................  28
SECTION 32  DESCRIPTIVE HEADINGS.....................................................................  28
</TABLE>

                                     -ii-
<PAGE>

                               RIGHTS AGREEMENT
                               ----------------

          AGREEMENT, dated as of June 26, 1986, as amended by Amendment No. 1
thereto dated as of May 11, 1989, Amendment No. 2 thereto dated April 23, 1996
and Amendment No. 3 thereto dated as of June 12, 2000 between CARPENTER
TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), and AMERICAN
STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY, as successor Rights Agent (the "Rights Agent").

          The Board of Directors of the Company has authorized and declared a
dividend of one Right for each share of Common Stock of the par value of $5 each
of the Company ("Common Share") outstanding on June 26, 1986 and has authorized
the issuance of one Right with respect to each Common Share that shall become
outstanding between June 26, 1986 and the earlier of the Distribution Date, the
Expiration Date and the Final Expiration Date (as such terms are defined in
Sections 3 and 7), each right representing the right to purchase one Common
Share.

          Accordingly, in consideration of the premises and the mutual
agreements herein set forth, the parties hereby agree as follows:

          Section 1.  Certain Definitions.  For purposes of this Agreement, the
                      -------------------
following terms have the meanings indicated:

          (a)  "Acquiring Person" shall mean any Person (as such term is
hereinafter defined) who or which, together with all Affiliates and Associates
(as such terms are hereinafter defined) of such Person, shall be the Beneficial
Owner (as such term is hereinafter defined) of 20% or more of the Common Shares
then outstanding, but shall not include the Company or any of its subsidiaries
(as defined in Section 11) or any employee benefit plan of the Company or any of
its subsidiaries or an entity holding Common Shares for or pursuant to the terms
of any such plan.

          (b)  "Affiliate" and "Associate" shall have the respective meanings
ascribed to such terms in Rule 12b-2 of the General Rules and Regulations under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), as in
effect on June 26, 1986.

          (c)  A Person shall be deemed the "Beneficial Owner" of and shall be
deemed to "beneficially own" any securities:

                 (i)  which such Person or any of such Person's Affiliates or
Associates beneficially owns, directly or indirectly;

                 (ii) which such Person or any of such Person's Affiliates or
Associates has (A) the right to acquire (whether such right is exercisable
immediately or only after the passage of time) pursuant to any agreement,
arrangement or understanding, or upon the exercise of conversion rights,
exchange rights, rights (other than these Rights), warrants or options, or
otherwise; provided, however, that a Person
           --------  -------

                                      -1-
<PAGE>

shall not be deemed the Beneficial Owner of, or to beneficially own, securities
tendered pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made by or on behalf of such
Person or any of such Person's Affiliates or Associates until such tendered
securities are accepted for purchase; or (B) the right to vote pursuant to any
agreement, arrangement or understanding; provided, however, that a Person shall
                                         --------  -------
not be deemed the Beneficial owner of, or to beneficially own, any security if
the agreement, arrangement or understanding to vote such security (1) arises
solely from a revocable proxy or consent given to such Person in response to a
public proxy or consent solicitation made pursuant to, and in accordance with,
the applicable rules and regulations of the Exchange Act and (2) is not also
then reportable on Schedule 13D under the Exchange Act (or any comparable or
successor report); or

               (iii)  which are beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by
any other Person with which such Person or any of such Person's Affiliates or
Associates has any agreement, arrangement or understanding for the purpose of
acquiring, holding, voting or disposing of any securities of the Company;
provided, however, that nothing in this paragraph (c) shall cause a person
--------  -------
engaged in business as an underwriter of securities to be the "Beneficial Owner"
of, or to "beneficially own," any securities acquired through such person's
participation in good faith in a firm commitment underwriting until the
expiration of forty days after the date of such acquisition; and provided,
                                                                 --------
further, that nothing herein shall cause a person who is an institutional
-------
investor of the type eligible to report securities ownership on Schedule 13G
pursuant to Rule 13d-1(b) under the Exchange Act to be the "Beneficial Owner"
of, or to "beneficially own", any securities the ownership of which is required
to be reported on Schedule 13G (or on Schedule 13D if such person does not state
any intention, or reserve the right, to change or influence control of the
Company), and if upon the Company's request such person certifies that it became
an Acquiring Person inadvertently or without knowledge of the terms of the
Rights or the Rights Agreement and such person further undertakes and agrees not
to acquire any additional Common Shares.

          (d)  "Business Day" shall mean any day other than a Saturday, Sunday,
or a day on which banking institutions in the State of New York are authorized
or obligated by law or executive order to close.

          (e)  "Close of business" on any given date shall mean 5:00 P.M., New
York City time, on such date; provided, however, that if such date is not a
                              --------  -------
Business Day it shall mean 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on the next succeeding
Business Day.

          (f)  "Common Shares" when used with reference to the Company shall
mean the shares of Common Stock of the par value of $5 each of the Company.
"Common Shares" when used with reference to any Person other than the Company
shall mean the capital stock or other equity security with the greatest voting
power of such Person.

          (g) "Continuing Director" shall mean any member of the Board of
Directors of the Company, while such person is a member of the Board, who is not
an

                                      -2-
<PAGE>

Acquiring Person, or an Affiliate or Associate of an Acquiring Person, or a
representative or nominee of an Acquiring Person or of any such Affiliate or
Associate, and was a member of the Board prior to the Shares Acquisition Date,
and any successor of a Continuing Director, while such successor is a member of
the Board, who is not an Acquiring Person, or an Affiliate or Associate of an
Acquiring Person, or a representative or nominee of an Acquiring Person or of
any such Affiliate or Associate, and is recommended or elected to succeed the
Continuing Director by a majority of the Continuing Directors.

           (h) "Person" shall mean any individual, firm, corporation or other
entity.

           (i) "Shares Acquisition Date" shall mean the first date of public
announcement by the Company or an Acquiring Person which establishes that an
Acquiring Person has become such.

          (j)  "Triggering Event" shall mean any event described in Section
11(a)(ii)(A), (B), (C), (D) or (E) or Section 13(a).

          (k)  "Adverse Person" shall mean any Person declared to be an Adverse
Person by the Board of Directors upon determination that the criteria set forth
in Section 11(a)(ii)(E) hereof apply to such Person.

          (l)  "Section 11(a)(ii) Event" shall mean any event described in
Section 11(a)(ii)(A), (B), (C), (D) or (E) hereof.

          Section 2.  Appointment of Rights Agent. The Company hereby appoints
                      ---------------------------
the Rights Agent to act as agent for the Company and the holders of the Rights
(who, in accordance with Section 3 hereof, shall prior to the Distribution Date
also be the holders of the Common Shares) in accordance with the terms and
conditions hereof, and the Rights Agent hereby accepts such appointment.  The
Company may from time to time appoint such Co-Rights Agents as it may deem
necessary or desirable.

          Section 3.  Issue of Right Certificates.
                      ---------------------------

          (a)  Until the earliest of (i) the close of business on the tenth day
after the Shares Acquisition Date, (ii) the close of business on the tenth
business day (or such later date as may be determined by the Board of Directors
of the Company) after the date that a tender offer or exchange offer by any
Person (other than the Company, any Subsidiary of the Company, any employee
benefit plan of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company, or any Person
or entity organized, appointed or established by the Company for or pursuant to
the terms of any such plan) for 20% or more of the Common Shares then
outstanding is first published or sent or given within the meaning of Rule 14d-
2(a) of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act, or (iii) the
close of business on the tenth day after the Board of Directors of the Company
determines, pursuant to the criteria set forth in Section 11(a)(ii)(E) hereof,
that a Person is an Adverse Person (the earliest of (i), (ii) and (iii) being
herein referred to as the "Distribution Date"), (x) the Rights will be evidenced
(subject to the provisions of

                                      -3-
<PAGE>

paragraph (b) and (c) of this Section 3) by the certificates for the Common
Shares registered in the names of the holders of the Common Shares (which
certificates for Common Shares shall be deemed also to be certificates for
Rights) and not by separate certificates, and (y) the Rights will be
transferable only in connection with the transfer of the underlying Common
Shares (including a transfer to the Company). Upon the occurrence of an event
described in clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) above, the Company shall give prompt
notice thereof to the Rights Agent. As of the Distribution Date, the Rights will
be evidenced solely by such Right Certificates.

          (b)  On June 26, 1986 or as soon as practicable thereafter, the
Company will send a copy of a Summary of Rights to Purchase Common Shares, in
substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit B (the "Summary of Rights"),
by first-class, postage prepaid mail, to each record holder of Common Shares as
of the close of business on June 26, 1986 at the address of such holder shown on
the records of the Company. With respect to certificates for Common Shares
outstanding as of June 26, 1986, until the Distribution Date, the Rights will be
evidenced by such certificates for Common Shares registered in the names of the
holders thereof (together with a copy of the Summary of Rights). Until the
Distribution Date (or the earlier Expiration Date or Final Expiration Date), the
surrender for transfer of any certificate for Common Shares outstanding on June
26, 1986, with or without a copy of the Summary of Rights attached hereto, shall
also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with the Common Shares
represented thereby.

          (c)  Certificates for Common Shares issued after June 26, 1986 but
prior to the earlier of the Distribution Date or the Expiration Date or the
Final Expiration Date shall have impressed on, printed on, written on or
otherwise affixed to them the following legend:

          This certificate also evidences and entitles the holder hereof to
          certain Rights as set forth in a Rights Agreement between Carpenter
          Technology Corporation and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company,
          successor to Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York, dated as of
          June 26, 1986, as amended as of May 11, 1989, as of April 23, 1996 and
          as of June 12, 2000 (the "Rights Agreement"), the terms of which are
          hereby incorporated herein by reference and a copy of which is on file
          at the principal executive offices of Carpenter Technology
          Corporation. Under certain circumstances, as set forth in the Rights
          Agreement, such Rights will be evidenced by separate certificates and
          will no longer be evidenced by this certificate. Carpenter Technology
          Corporation will mail to the holder of this certificate a copy of the
          Rights Agreement without charge after receipt of a written request
          therefor. Under certain circumstances, Rights issued to or held by
          Acquiring Persons, an Adverse Person or their Affiliates or Associates
          (as defined in the Rights Agreement) and any subsequent holder of such
          Rights may become null and void.

                                      -4-
<PAGE>

With respect to such certificates containing the foregoing legend, until the
Distribution Date, the Rights associated with the Common Shares represented by
such certificates shall be evidenced by such certificates alone, and the
surrender for transfer of any such certificates shall also constitute the
transfer of the Rights associated with the Common Shares represented thereby.

          Section 4.  Form of Right Certificates.
                      --------------------------

          (a)  The Right Certificates (and the forms of election to purchase
shares and of assignment to be printed on the reverse thereof) shall be
substantially the same as Exhibit A hereto and may have such marks of
identification or designation and such legends, summaries or endorsements
printed thereon as the Company may deem appropriate and as are not inconsistent
with the provisions of this Agreement, or as may be required to comply with any
applicable law or with any rule or regulation made pursuant thereto or with any
rule or regulation of any stock exchange on which the Rights may from time to
time be listed, or to conform to usage.  Subject to the provisions of Sections
11 and 22 hereof, the Right Certificates, whenever issued, shall be dated as of
June 26, 1986, and on their face shall entitle the holders thereof to purchase
such number of Common Shares as shall be set forth therein at the price per
share set forth therein (the "Purchase Price"), but the number of such shares
and the Purchase Price shall be subject to adjustment as provided herein.

          (b)  Any Rights Certificate issued pursuant to Section 3(a) or Section
22 hereof that represents Rights beneficially owned by: (i) an Acquiring Person
or an Adverse Person or any Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person or an
Adverse Person, (ii) a transferee of an Acquiring Person or an Adverse Person
(or of any such Associate or Affiliate) who becomes a transferee after the
Acquiring Person or Adverse Person becomes such, or (iii) a transferee of an
Acquiring Person or an Adverse Person (or of any such Associate or Affiliate)
who becomes a transferee prior to or concurrently with the Acquiring Person or
Adverse Person becoming such and receives such Rights pursuant to either (A) a
transfer (whether or not for consideration) from the Acquiring Person or Adverse
Person to holders of equity interests in such Acquiring Person or Adverse Person
or to any Person with whom such Acquiring Person or Adverse Person has any
continuing agreement, arrangement or understanding regarding the transferred
Rights or (B) a transfer which the Board of Directors of the Company has
determined is part of a plan, arrangement or understanding which has as a
primary purpose or effect avoidance of Section 7(e) hereof, and any Rights
Certificate issued pursuant to Section 6 or Section 11 hereof upon transfer,
exchange, replacement or adjustment of any other Rights Certificate referred to
in this sentence, shall contain (to the extent feasible) the following legend:

          The Rights represented by this Certificate are or were beneficially
          owned by a Person who was or became an [Acquiring] [Adverse] Person or
          an Affiliate or Associate of an [Acquiring] [Adverse] Person (as such
          terms are defined in The Rights Agreement). This Right Certificate and
          the Rights represented hereby may become null and void in the

                                      -5-
<PAGE>

          circumstances specified in Section 7(e) of the Rights Agreement.

          Section 5. Countersignature and Registration. The Right Certificates
                     ---------------------------------
shall be executed on behalf of the Company by its Chief Executive Officer,
President or any Vice President, either manually or by facsimile signature, and
have affixed thereto the Company's seal or a facsimile thereof which shall be
attested by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Company, either
manually or by facsimile signature.  The Right Certificates shall be manually
countersigned by the Rights Agent and shall not be valid for any purpose unless
so countersigned.  In case any officer of the Company who shall have signed any
of the Right Certificates shall cease to be such officer of the Company before
countersignature by the Rights Agent and issuance and delivery by the Company,
such Right Certificates, nevertheless, may be countersigned by the Rights Agent,
and issued and delivered by the Company with the same force and effect as though
the person who signed such Right Certificates had not ceased to be such officer
of the Company; and any Right Certificate may be signed on behalf of the Company
by any person who, at the actual date of the execution of such Right
Certificate, shall be a proper officer of the Company to sign such Right
Certificate, although at the date of the execution of this Rights Agreement any
such person was not such an officer.

          Following the Distribution Date, the Rights Agent will keep or cause
to be kept, at one of its offices in New York, New York, books for registration
and transfer of the Right Certificates issued hereunder.  Such books shall show
the names and addresses of the respective holders of the Right Certificates, the
number of Rights evidenced on its face by each of the Right Certificates, the
Right Certificate numbers, and the date of each of the Right Certificates.

          Section 6. Transfer, Split up, Combination and Exchange of Right
                     -----------------------------------------------------
Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Right Certificates. Subject
---------------------------------------------------------------------
to the provisions of Section 14 hereof, at any time after the close of business
on the Distribution Date, and at or prior to the close of business on the
earlier of the Expiration Date or the Final Expiration Date, any Right
Certificate or Certificates may be transferred, split up, combined or exchanged
for another Right Certificate or Right Certificates entitling the registered
holder to purchase a like number of Common Shares as the Right Certificate or
Right Certificates surrendered then entitled such holder to purchase.  Any
registered holder desiring to transfer, split up, combine or exchange any Right
Certificate shall make such request in writing delivered to the Rights Agent,
and shall surrender the Right Certificate or Right Certificates to be
transferred, split up, combined or exchanged at the principal office of the
Rights Agent.  Thereupon the Rights Agent shall countersign and deliver to the
person entitled thereto a Right Certificate or Right Certificates, as the case
may be, as so requested.  The Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to
cover any tax or governmental charge that may be imposed in connection with any
transfer, split up, combination or exchange of Right Certificates.

                                      -6-
<PAGE>

          Upon receipt by the Company and the Rights Agent of evidence
reasonably satisfactory to them of the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of
a Right Certificate, and, in case of loss, theft or destruction, of indemnity or
security reasonably satisfactory to them, and, at the Company's request,
reimbursement to the Company and the Rights Agent of all reasonable expenses
incidental thereto, and upon surrender to the Rights Agent and cancellation of
the Right Certificate if mutilated, the Company will make and deliver a new
Right Certificate of like tenor to the Rights Agent for delivery to the
registered owner in lieu of the Right Certificate so lost, stolen, destroyed or
mutilated.

          Section 7.  Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price; Expiration Date of
                      ------------------------------------------------------
Rights.
------

          (a)  The registered holder of any Right Certificate may exercise the
Rights evidenced thereby (except as otherwise provided herein) in whole or in
part at any time after the Distribution Date upon surrender of the Right
Certificate, with the form of election to purchase on the reverse side thereof
duly executed, to the Rights Agent at the principal office of the Rights Agent
in New York, New York, together with payment of the Purchase Price for each
Common Share as to which the Rights are exercised, at or prior to the earlier of
(i) the close of business on June 26, 2006 (the "Final Expiration Date"), or
(ii) the time at which the Rights are redeemed as provided in Section 23 hereof
(such earlier time being herein referred to as the "Expiration Date").

          (b)  The Purchase Price for each Common Share pursuant to the exercise
of a Right shall initially be $145, shall be subject to adjustment from time to
time as provided in Sections 11 and 13 hereof and shall be payable in lawful
money of the United States of America in accordance with paragraph (c) below.

          (c)  Upon receipt of a Right Certificate representing exercisable
Rights, with the form of election to purchase duly executed, accompanied by
payment of the Purchase Price for the shares to be purchased and an amount equal
to any applicable transfer tax in cash, or by certified check or money order
payable to the order of the Company, the Rights Agent shall thereupon promptly
(i) requisition from any transfer agent of the Common Shares (or make available,
if the Rights Agent is the transfer agent) certificates for the number of Common
Shares to be purchased and the Company hereby irrevocably authorizes its
transfer agent to comply with all such requests, (ii) when appropriate,
requisition from the Company the amount of cash to be paid in lieu of issuance
of fractional shares in accordance with Section 14 or in lieu of issuance of
Common Shares in accordance with Section 11(a)(iii) (or Section 13 to the extent
that Section 11(a)(iii) is made applicable thereunder), (iii) promptly after
receipt of such certificates, cause the same to be delivered to or upon the
order of the registered holder of such Right Certificate, registered in such
name or names as may be designated by such holder and (iv) when appropriate,
after receipt promptly deliver such cash to or upon the order of the registered
holder of such Right Certificate.

          (d)  In case the registered holder of any Right Certificate shall
exercise less than all the Rights evidenced thereby, a new Right Certificate
evidencing Rights equivalent to the Rights remaining unexercised shall be issued
by the Rights Agent and

                                      -7-
<PAGE>

delivered to the registered holder of such Right Certificate or to his duly
authorized assigns, subject to the provisions of Section 14 hereof.

          (e)  Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, from
and after the first occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event, any Rights
beneficially owned by (i) an Acquiring Person, an Adverse Person or an Associate
or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person or an Adverse Person, (ii) a transferee of
an Acquiring Person or an Adverse Person (or of any such Associate or Affiliate)
who becomes a transferee after the Acquiring Person or Adverse Person becomes
such, or (iii) a transferee of an Acquiring Person or an Adverse Person (or of
any such Associate or Affiliate) who becomes a transferee prior to or
concurrently with the Acquiring Person or Adverse Person becoming such and
receives such Rights pursuant to either (A) a transfer (whether or not for
consideration) from the Acquiring Person or Adverse Person to holders of equity
interests in such Acquiring Person or Adverse Person or to any Person with whom
the Acquiring Person or Adverse Person has any continuing agreement, arrangement
or understanding regarding the transferred Rights or (B) a transfer which the
Board of Directors of the Company has determined is a part of a plan,
arrangement or understanding which has as a primary purpose or effect the
avoidance of this Section 7(e), shall become null and void without any further
action and no holder of such Rights shall have any rights whatsoever with
respect to such Rights, whether under any provision of this Agreement or
otherwise. The Company shall use all reasonable efforts to insure that the
provisions of this Section 7(e) and Section 4(b) hereof are complied with, but
shall have no liability to any holder of Rights Certificates or other Person as
a result of its failure to make any determinations with respect to an Acquiring
Person or an Adverse Person or any of their respect Affiliates, Associates or
transferees hereunder.

          Section 8.  Cancellation and Destruction of Right Certificates. All
                      --------------------------------------------------
Right Certificates surrendered for the purpose of exercise, transfer, split up,
combination or exchange shall, if surrendered to the Company or to any of its
agents, be delivered to the Rights Agent for cancellation or in cancelled form,
or, if surrendered to the Rights Agent, shall be cancelled by it, and no Right
Certificates shall be issued in lieu thereof except as expressly permitted by
any of the provisions of this Rights Agreement. The Company shall deliver to the
Rights Agent for cancellation and retirement, and the Rights Agent shall so
cancel and retire, any other Right Certificate purchased or acquired by the
Company otherwise than upon the exercise thereof. The Rights Agent shall deliver
all cancelled Right Certificates to the Company, or shall, at the written
request of the Company, destroy such cancelled Right Certificates, and in such
case shall deliver a certificate of destruction thereof to the Company.

          Section 9.  Reservation and Availability of Common Shares. The
                      ---------------------------------------------
Company covenants and agrees that it will cause to be reserved and kept
available out of its authorized and unissued Common Shares or any authorized and
issued Common Shares held in its treasury, the number of Common Shares that will
be sufficient to permit the exercise in full of all outstanding Rights.

                                      -8-
<PAGE>

          So long as the Common Shares issuable upon the exercise of Rights may
be listed on any national securities exchange, the Company shall use its best
efforts to cause, from and after such time as the Rights become exercisable, all
shares reserved for such issuance to be listed on such exchange upon official
notice of issuance upon such exercise.

          The Company covenants and agrees that it will take all such action as
may be necessary to ensure that all Common Shares delivered upon exercise of
Rights shall, at the time of delivery of the certificates for such shares
(subject to payment of the Purchase Price), be duly and validly authorized and
issued and fully paid and nonassessable shares.

          The Company further covenants and agrees that it will pay when due and
payable any and all federal and state transfer taxes and charges which may be
payable in respect of the issuance or delivery of the Right Certificates or of
any Common Shares upon the exercise of Rights. The Company shall not, however,
be required to pay any transfer tax which may be payable in respect of any
transfer or delivery of Right Certificates to a person other than, or the
issuance or delivery of certificates for the Common Shares in a name other than
that of, the registered holder of the Right Certificate evidencing Rights
surrendered for exercise or to issue or deliver any certificates for Common
Shares upon the exercise of any Rights until any such tax shall have been paid
(any such tax being payable by the holder of such Right Certificate at the time
of surrender) or until it has been established to the Company's satisfaction
that no such tax is due.

          Section 10.  Common Shares Record Date. Each person in whose name any
                       -------------------------
certificate for Common Shares is issued upon the exercise of Rights shall for
all purposes be deemed to have become the holder of record of the Common Shares
represented thereby on, and such certificate shall be dated, the date upon which
the Right Certificate evidencing such Rights was duly surrendered and payment of
the Purchase Price (and any applicable transfer taxes) was made; provided,
                                                                 --------
however, that if the date of such surrender and payment is a date upon which the
-------
Common Shares transfer books of the Company are closed, such person shall be
deemed to have become the record holder of such shares on, and such certificate
shall be dated, the next succeeding Business Day on which the Common Shares
transfer books of the Company are open. Prior to the exercise of the Rights
evidenced thereby, the holder of a Right Certificate shall not be entitled to
any rights of a stockholder of the Company with respect to shares for which the
Rights shall be exercisable, including, without limitation, the right to vote,
to receive dividends or other distributions or to exercise any preemptive
rights, and shall not be entitled to receive any notice of any proceedings of
the Company, except as provided herein.

          Section 11.  Adjustment of Purchase Price Number of Shares or Number
                       -------------------------------------------------------
of Rights.  The Purchase Price, the number of shares covered by each Right and
---------
the number of Rights outstanding are subject to adjustment from time to time as
provided in this Section 11.

                                      -9-
<PAGE>

          (a)  (i)  In the event the Company shall at any time after the date of
this Agreement (A) declare a dividend on the Common Shares payable in Common
Shares, (B) subdivide the outstanding Common Shares, (C) combine the outstanding
Common Shares into a smaller number of shares or (D) issue any shares of its
capital stock in a reclassification of the Common Shares (including any such
reclassification in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the
Company is the continuing or surviving corporation), except as otherwise
provided in this Section 11(a), the Purchase Price in effect at the time of the
record date for such dividend or of the effective date of such subdivision,
combination or reclassification, and the number and kind of shares of capital
stock issuable on such date, shall be proportionately adjusted so that the
holder of any Right exercised after such time shall be entitled to receive the
aggregate number and kind of shares of capital stock which, if such Right had
been exercised immediately prior to such date and at a time when the Common
Shares transfer books of the Company were open, he would have owned upon such
exercise and been entitled to receive by virtue of such dividend, subdivision,
combination or reclassification. If an event occurs which would require an
adjustment under both Section 11(a)(i) and Section 11(a)(ii), the adjustment
provided for in this Section 11(a)(i) shall be in addition to, and shall be made
prior to, any adjustment required pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii).



               (ii) In the event

                    (A) any Acquiring Person or any Associate or Affiliate of
     any Acquiring Person, at any time after the date of this Agreement,
     directly or indirectly, (1) shall merge into the Company or otherwise
     combine with the Company and the Company shall be the continuing or
     surviving corporation of such merger or combination and the Common Shares
     of the Company shall remain outstanding and unchanged, (2) shall, in one or
     more transactions, transfer any assets to the Company in exchange (in whole
     or in part) for Common Shares or for securities exercisable for or
     convertible into Common Shares or otherwise obtain from the Company, with
     or without consideration, any additional Common Shares or securities
     exercisable for or convertible into Common Shares (other than as part of a
     pro rata distribution to all holders of Common Shares), (3) shall sell,
     purchase, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge, transfer or otherwise dispose
     (in one or more transactions), to, from or with, as the case may be, the
     Company or any of its subsidiaries, assets on terms and conditions less
     favorable to the Company than the Company would be able to obtain in arm's-
     length negotiation with an unaffiliated third party, (4) shall sell,
     purchase, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge, transfer or otherwise dispose
     (in one or more transactions) to, from or with, as the case may be, the
     Company or any of its subsidiaries, assets having an aggregate fair market
     value of more than $10,000,000 (5) shall receive any compensation from the
     Company or any of the Company's subsidiaries other than compensation for
     full-time employment as a regular employee at rates in accordance with the
     Company's (or its subsidiaries') past practices, or (6) shall receive the
     benefit, directly or indirectly (except proportionately as a stockholder),
     of any loans, advances, guarantees,

                                      -10-
<PAGE>

     pledges or other financial assistance or any tax credits or other tax
     advantage provided by the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or

               (B)  any Person (other than the Company, any subsidiary of the
     Company, any employee benefit plan of the Company or of any subsidiary of
     the Company, or any Person or entity organized, appointed or established by
     the Company for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan), alone or
     together with its Affiliates and Associates, shall become the Beneficial
     Owner of 20% or more of the Common Shares then outstanding, unless the
     event causing the 20% threshold to be crossed is (1) a transaction set
     forth in Section 13(a) hereof or (2) an acquisition of Common Shares
     pursuant to a tender offer or an exchange offer for all outstanding Common
     Shares at a price and on terms determined by a majority of the Continuing
     Directors to be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders.

               (C)  during such time as there is an Acquiring Person, there
     shall be any reclassification of securities (including any reverse stock
     split), or recapitalization of the Company, or any merger or consolidation
     of the Company with any of its subsidiaries or any other similar
     transaction or series of transactions involving the Company or any of its
     subsidiaries (whether or not with or into or otherwise involving an
     Acquiring Person) which has the effect, directly or indirectly, of
     increasing by more than 1% the proportionate share of the outstanding
     shares of any class of equity securities or of securities exercisable for
     or convertible into equity securities of the Company or any of its
     subsidiaries which is directly or indirectly beneficially owned by an
     Acquiring Person or any Associate or Affiliate of any Acquiring Person, or

               (D)  during such time as there is an Acquiring Person, any of the
     following shall occur without the approval of a majority of the Continuing
     Directors: (1) there shall be any reduction in the annual rate of dividends
     paid on shares of the capital stock of the Company (except as necessary to
     reflect any subdivision of such shares or as required under applicable
     law), or (2) there shall be a failure to increase the annual rate of
     dividends on shares of capital stock of the Company as necessary to reflect
     any reclassification,(including any reverse stock split), recapitalization,
     reorganization or any similar transaction which has the effect of reducing
     the number of outstanding shares of such capital stock (except to the
     extent such increase in the rate of dividends would be prohibited under
     applicable law) or

               (E)  the Board of Directors of the Company shall declare any
     Person to be an Adverse Person, upon a determination that such Person,
     alone or together with its Affiliates and Associates has become the
     Beneficial Owner of an amount of Common Shares which the Board of Directors
     determines to be substantial (which amount shall in no event be less than
     15% of the Common Shares then outstanding) and a determination by at least
     a majority of the Board of Directors who are not officers of the Company,
     after reasonable inquiry and investigation, including consultation with
     such persons as

                                      -11-
<PAGE>

     such Directors shall deem appropriate, that (1) such Beneficial Ownership
     by such Person is intended to cause the Company to repurchase the Common
     Shares beneficially owned by such Person or to cause pressure on the
     Company to take action or enter into a transaction or series of
     transactions intended to provide such Person with short-term financial gain
     under circumstances where the Board of Directors determines that the best
     long-term interests of the Company and its shareholders would not be served
     by taking such action or entering into such transactions or series of
     transactions at that time or (2) such Beneficial ownership is causing or
     reasonably likely to cause a material adverse impact (including, but not
     limited to, impairment of relationships with customers, impairment of the
     Company's business reputation or impairment of the Company's ability to
     maintain its competitive position) on the business or prospects of the
     Company, then, and in each such case, proper provision shall be made so
     that each holder of a Right, except as provided below and in Section 7(e),
     shall have a right to receive, upon exercise thereof at the then current
     Purchase Price in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, such number
     of Common Shares as shall equal the result obtained by (x) multiplying the
     then current Purchase Price by the then number of Common Shares for which a
     Right is then exercisable and dividing that product by (y) 50% of the
     current per share market price of the Common Shares (determined pursuant to
     Section 11(d)) on the date of the occurrence of any one of the events
     listed above in this subparagraph (ii).

          For the purposes of this Section 11, "subsidiaries" shall mean any
corporations or other entities of which a majority of the voting power of the
voting equity securities or equity interests is owned, directly or indirectly,
by the Company.

                    (iii)     In the event that there shall not be sufficient
Treasury shares or authorized but unissued Common Shares to permit the exercise
in full of the Rights in accordance with the foregoing subparagraph (ii), the
Company shall take all such action as may be necessary to authorize additional
Common Shares for issuance upon exercise of the Rights; provided, however, if
                                                        --------  -------
the Company is unable to cause the authorization of additional Common Shares
then, notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company, to the
extent necessary, shall pay cash, at a rate per share equal to the Purchase
Price in effect at the time of exercise, in lieu of issuing such additional
Common Shares and requiring payment therefor, upon exercise of the Rights. To
the extent that any legal or contractual restrictions prevent the Company from
paying the full amount of cash payable in accordance with the foregoing
sentence, the Company shall pay to holders of the Rights as to which such
payments are being made all amounts which are not then restricted, on a pro rata
basis. The Company shall continue to make payments on a pro rata basis as funds
become available until such payments have been paid in full.

          (b)  In case the Company shall fix a record date for the issuance of
rights or warrants to all holders of Common Shares entitling them (for a period
expiring within 45 calendar days after such record date) to subscribe for or
purchase Common Shares

                                      -12-
<PAGE>

(or securities convertible into Common Shares) at a price per Common Share (or
having a conversion price per Common Share, if a security convertible into
Common Shares) less than the current per share market price of the Common Shares
(as defined in Section 11(d)) on such record date, the Purchase Price to be in
effect after such record date shall be determined by multiplying the Purchase
Price in effect immediately prior to such record date by a fraction, the
numerator of which shall be the number of Common Shares outstanding on such
record date plus the number of Common Shares which the aggregate offering price
of the total number of Common Shares so to be offered (and/or the aggregate
initial conversion price of the convertible securities so to be offered) would
purchase at such current market price and the denominator of which shall be the
number of Common Shares outstanding on such record date plus the number of
additional Common Shares to be offered for subscription or purchase (or into
which the convertible securities so to be offered are initially convertible). In
case such subscription price may be paid in a consideration part or all of which
shall be in a form other than cash, the value of such consideration shall be as
determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company, whose
determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent.
Common Shares owned by or held for the account of the Company shall not be
deemed outstanding for the purpose of any such computation. Such adjustment
shall be made successively whenever such a record date is fixed; and in the
event that such rights or warrants are not so issued, the Purchase Price shall
be adjusted to be the Purchase Price which would then be in effect if such
record date had not been fixed.

          (c)  In case the Company shall fix a record date for the making of a
distribution to all holders of the Common Shares (including any such
distribution made in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the
Company is the continuing or surviving corporation) of evidences of indebtedness
or assets (other than a regular periodic cash dividend at a rate not in excess
of 125% of the rate of the last regular periodic cash dividend theretofore paid
or a dividend payable in Common Shares) or subscription rights or warrants
(excluding those referred to in Section 11(b)), the Purchase Price to be in
effect after such record date shall be determined by multiplying the Purchase
Price in effect immediately prior to such record date by a fraction, the
numerator of which shall be the current per share market price of the Common
Shares (as defined in Section 11(d)) on such record date, less the fair market
value (as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company,
whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights
Agent) of the portion of the assets or evidences of indebtedness so to be
distributed or of such subscription rights or warrants applicable to one Common
Share and the denominator of which shall be such current per share market price
of the Common Shares. Such adjustments shall be made successively whenever such
a record date is fixed; and in the event that such distribution is not so made,
the Purchase Price shall again be adjusted to be the Purchase Price which would
then be in effect if such record date had not been fixed.

          (d)  For the purpose of any computation hereunder, the "current per
share market price" of the Common Shares on any date shall be deemed to be the

                                      -13-
<PAGE>

average of the daily closing prices per share of such Common Shares for the 20
consecutive Trading Days (as such term is hereinafter defined) immediately prior
to such date; provided, however, that in the event that the current per share
              --------  -------
market price of the Common Shares is determined during a period following the
announcement by the issuer of such Common Shares of (i) a dividend or
distribution on such Common Shares payable in such Common Shares or securities
convertible into such Common Shares or (ii) any subdivision, combination or
reclassification of such Common Shares, and prior to the expiration of 20
Trading Days after the ex-dividend date for such dividend or distribution, or
the record date for such subdivision, combination or reclassification, then, and
in each such case, the "current market price" shall be appropriately adjusted to
reflect the effects of such dividend or distribution. The closing price for each
day shall be the last sale price, regular way, or, in case no such sale takes
place on such day, the average of the closing bid and asked prices, regular way,
in either case as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting
system with respect to securities listed or admitted to trading on the New York
Stock Exchange or, if the Common Shares are not listed or admitted to trading on
the New York Stock Exchange, as reported in the principal consolidated
transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed on the principal
national securities exchange on which the Common Shares are listed or admitted
to trading or, if the Common Shares are not listed or admitted to trading on any
national securities exchange, the last quoted price or, if not so quoted, the
average of the high bid and low asked prices in the over-the-counter market, as
reported by the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. Automated
Quotation System ("NASDAQ") or such other system then in use, or, if on any such
date the Common Shares are not quoted by any such organization, the average of
the closing bid and asked prices as furnished by a professional market maker
making a market in the Common Shares selected by the Board of Directors of the
Company. If on any such date no market maker is making a market in the Common
Shares, the fair value of such shares on such date as determined in good faith
by the Board of Directors of the Company shall be used. The term "Trading Day"
shall mean a day on which the principal national securities exchange on which
the Common Shares are listed or admitted to trading is open for the transaction
of business or, if the Common Shares are not listed or admitted to trading on
any national securities exchange, a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or
Friday on which banking institutions in the State of New York are not authorized
or obligated by law or executive order to close. If the Common Shares are not
publicly held or not so listed or traded, "current per share market price" shall
mean the fair value per share as determined in good faith by the Board of
Directors of the Company, whose determination shall be described in a statement
filed with the Rights Agent.

          (e)  No adjustment in the Purchase Price shall be required unless such
adjustment would require an increase or decrease of at least 1% in such price;
provided, however, that any adjustments which by reason of this Section 11(e)
--------  -------
are not required to be made shall be carried forward and taken into account in
any subsequent adjustment. All calculations under this Section 11 shall be made
to the nearest cent or to the nearest thousandth of a share as the case may be.
Notwithstanding the first sentence of this Section 11(e), any adjustment
required by this Section 11 shall be

                                      -14-
<PAGE>

made no later than the earlier of (i) three years from the date of the
transaction which requires such adjustment or (ii) the date of the expiration of
the right to exercise any Rights.

          (f)  If as a result of an adjustment made pursuant to Section 11(a),
the holder of any Right thereafter exercised shall become entitled to receive
any shares of capital stock of the Company other than Common Shares, thereafter
the number of such other shares so receivable upon exercise of any Right shall
be subject to adjustment from time to time in a manner and on terms as nearly
equivalent as practicable to the provisions with respect to the shares contained
in Section 11(a) through (c), inclusive, and the provisions of Sections 7, 9, 10
and 13 hereof with respect to the Common Shares shall apply on like terms to any
such other shares.

          (g)  All Rights originally issued by the Company subsequent to any
adjustment made to the Purchase Price hereunder shall evidence the right to
purchase, at the adjusted Purchase Price, the number of Common Shares
purchasable from time to time hereunder upon exercise of the Rights, all subject
to further adjustment as provided herein.

          (h)  Unless the Company shall have exercised its election as provided
in Section 11(i), upon each adjustment of the Purchase Price as a result of the,
calculations made in Section 11(b) and (c), each Right outstanding immediately
prior to the making of such adjustment shall thereafter evidence the right to
purchase, at the adjusted Purchase Price, that number of shares (calculated to
the nearest thousandth) obtained by (i) multiplying (x) the number of shares
covered by a Right immediately prior to this adjustment by (y) the Purchase
Price in effect immediately prior to such adjustment of the Purchase Price and
(ii) dividing the product so obtained by the Purchase Price in effect
immediately after such adjustment of the Purchase Price.

          (i)  The Company may elect on or after the date of any adjustment of
the Purchase Price to adjust the number of Rights, in substitution for any
adjustment in the number of Common Shares issuable upon the exercise of a Right.
Each of the Rights outstanding after such adjustment of the number of Rights
shall be exercisable for the number of Common Shares for which a Right was
exercisable immediately prior to such adjustment. Each Right held of record
prior to such adjustment of the number of Rights shall become that number of
Rights (calculated to the nearest thousandth) obtained by dividing the Purchase
Price in effect immediately prior to adjustment of the Purchase Price by the
Purchase Price in effect immediately after adjustment of the Purchase Price. The
Company shall make a public announcement of its election to adjust the number of
Rights, indicating the record date for the adjustment, and, if known at the
time, the amount of the adjustment to be made. This record date may be the date
on which the Purchase Price is adjusted or any day thereafter, but, if the Right
Certificates have been issued, shall be at least 10 days later than the date of
the public announcement. If Right Certificates have been issued, upon each
adjustment of the number of Rights pursuant to this Section 11(i), the Company
shall, as promptly as practicable, cause to be distributed to holders of record
of Right Certificates on such record date Right Certificates evidencing, subject
to Section 14 hereof, the additional

                                      -15-
<PAGE>

Rights to which such holders shall be entitled as a result of such adjustment,
or, at the option of the Company, shall cause to be distributed to such holders
of record in substitution and replacement for the Right Certificates held by
such holders prior to the date of adjustment, and upon surrender thereof, if
required by the Company, new Right Certificates evidencing all the Rights to
which such holders shall be entitled after such adjustment. Right Certificates
so to be distributed shall be issued, executed and countersigned in the manner
provided for herein (and may bear, at the option of the Company, the adjusted
Purchase Price) and shall be registered in the names of the holders of record of
Right Certificates on the record date specified in the public announcement.

          (j)  Irrespective of any adjustment or change in the Purchase Price or
the number of Common Shares issuable upon the exercise of the Rights, the Right
Certificates theretofore and thereafter issued may continue to express the
Purchase Price per share and the number of shares which were expressed in the
initial Right Certificates issued hereunder.

          (k)  Before taking any action that would cause an adjustment reducing
the Purchase Price below the then par value, if any, of the Common Shares
issuable upon exercise of the Rights, the Company shall take any corporate
action which may, in the opinion of its counsel, be necessary in order that the
Company may validly and legally issue fully paid and nonassessable Common Shares
at such adjusted Purchase Price.

          (l)  In any case in which this Section 11 shall require that an
adjustment in the Purchase Price be made effective as of a record date for a
specified event, the Company may elect to defer until the occurrence of such
event the issuing to the holder of any Right exercised after such record date
the Common Shares and other capital stock or securities of the Company, if any,
issuable upon such exercise over and above the Common Shares and other capital
stock or securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such exercise on the
basis of the Purchase Price in effect prior to such adjustment; provided,
                                                                --------
however, that the Company shall deliver to such holder a due bill or other
-------
appropriate instrument evidencing such holder's right to receive such additional
shares upon the occurrence of the event requiring such adjustment.

          (m)  Anything in this Section 11 to the contrary notwithstanding, the
Company shall be entitled to make such reductions in the Purchase Price, in
addition to those adjustments expressly required by this Section 11, as and to
the extent that it in its sole discretion shall determine to be advisable in
order that any consolidation or subdivision of the Common Shares, issuance
wholly for cash of any of the Common Shares at less than the current market
price, issuance wholly for cash of Common Shares or securities which by their
terms are convertible into or exchangeable for Common Shares, stock dividends or
issuance of rights, options or warrants referred to hereinabove in this Section
11, hereafter made by the Company to holders of its Common Shares shall not be
taxable to such stockholders.

                                      -16-
<PAGE>

          (n) The Company covenants and agrees that it shall not, at any time
after the Distribution Date, (i) consolidate with, (ii) merge with or into, or
(iii) sell or transfer (or permit any of its subsidiaries to sell or transfer),
in one or more transactions, assets or earning power or cash flow potential
aggregating more than 50% of the assets or earning power or cash flow potential
of the Company and its subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to, any other Person if
at the time of or immediately after such consolidation, merger or sale there are
any rights, warrants or other instruments or securities outstanding or
agreements in effect which would substantially diminish or otherwise eliminate
the benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights.

          (o) The Company covenants and agrees that, after the Distribution
Date, it will not, except as permitted by Section 23 hereof, take (or permit any
of its subsidiaries to take) any action if at the time such action is taken it
is reasonably foreseeable that such action will diminish substantially or
otherwise eliminate the benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights.

          (p) The failure by the Board of Directors to declare a Person to be an
Adverse Person following such Person becoming the Beneficial Owner of 15% or
more of the outstanding Common Shares shall not imply that such Person is not an
Adverse Person or limit the Board of Directors' right at any time in the future
to declare such Person to be an Adverse Person.

          Section 12.  Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price or Number of
                       ---------------------------------------------------
Shares. Whenever an adjustment is made as provided in Sections 11 and 13 hereof,
------
the Company shall (a) promptly prepare a certificate setting forth such
adjustment, and a brief statement of the facts accounting for such adjustment,
(b) promptly file with the Rights Agent and with each transfer agent for the
Common Shares a copy of such certificate and (c) mail a brief summary thereof to
each holder of a Right Certificate in accordance with Section 25 hereof.

          Section 13.  Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of Assets or
                       ------------------------------------------------------
Earning Power.
-------------

          (a) In the event, directly or indirectly,(x) the Company shall
consolidate with, or merge with and into, any Acquiring Person or any Associate
or Affiliate of any Acquiring Person, and the Company shall not be the
continuing or surviving corporation of such consolidation or merger, (y) any
Acquiring Person or any Associate or Affiliate of any Acquiring Person shall
consolidate with the Company, or merge with and into the Company and the Company
shall be the continuing or surviving corporation of such merger and, in
connection with such merger, all or part of the Common Shares shall be changed
into or exchanged for stock or other securities of any other Person or cash or
any other property, or (z) the Company shall sell or otherwise transfer (or one
or more of its subsidiaries shall sell or otherwise transfer), in one or more
transactions, assets or earning power or cash flow potential aggregating more
than 50% of the assets or earning power or cash flow potential of the Company
and its subsidiaries (as defined in Section 11) (taken as a whole) to any
Acquiring Person or an Associate or Affiliate of any Acquiring Person, then, and
in each such case (except as may be contemplated by

                                      -17-
<PAGE>

Section 13(d) hereof), proper provision shall be made so that (i) each holder of
a Right, except as provided in Section 7(e), shall thereafter have the right to
receive, upon the exercise thereof at the then-current Purchase Price in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement, such number of shares of validly
issued, fully paid, nonassessable and freely tradeable Common Shares of the
Principal Party, not subject to any rights of first refusal, as shall be equal
to the result obtained by (1) multiplying the then-current Purchase Price by the
number of Common Shares for which a Right is then exercisable and dividing that
product by (2) 50% of the current per share market price of Common Shares of
such Principal Party (determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) on the date
of consummation of such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer; (ii) such
Principal Party shall thereafter be liable for, and shall assume, by virtue of
such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer, all the obligations and duties of
the Company pursuant to this Agreement (including Section 11(a)(iii)); (iii) the
term "Company" shall thereafter be deemed to refer to such Principal Party, it
being specifically intended that the provisions of Section 11 hereof shall apply
to such Principal Party; and (iv) such Principal Party shall take such steps
(including, but not limited to, the reservation of a sufficient number of shares
of its Common Shares in accordance with Section 9 hereof) in connection with
such consummation as may be necessary to assure that the provisions hereof shall
thereafter be applicable, as nearly as reasonable may be, in relation to its
shares of Common Shares thereafter deliverable upon the exercise of the Rights.

          (b) "Principal Party" shall mean

                (i)  in the case of any transaction described in (x) or (y) of
the first sentence of Section 130(a), the Person that is the issuer of any
securities into which Common Shares of the Company are converted or exchanged in
such merger or consolidation, and if no securities are so issued, the Person
that is the other party to the merger or consolidation; and

                (ii) in the case of any transaction described in (z) of the
first sentence in Section 13(a), the Person that is the other party to such
transaction; provided, however, that in any such case, (x) if the Common Shares
             --------  -------
of such Person are not at such time and have not been continuously over the
preceding 12-month period registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, and such Person is a direct or indirect subsidiary (which for
purposes of this Section shall mean any corporation or other entity of which a
majority of the voting power of the voting equity securities or equity interests
is owned, directly or indirectly by another corporation) of another corporation
the Common Shares of which are and have been so registered, "Principal Party"
shall refer to such other corporation; and (y) in case such Person is a
subsidiary, directly or indirectly, of more than one corporation, the Common
Shares of all of which are and have been so registered, "Principal Party" shall
refer to whichever of such corporations is the issuer of the Common Shares
having the greatest market value of shares held by the public.

          (c) The Company shall not consummate any such consolidation, merger,
sale or transfer unless prior thereto the Company and such Principal Party shall
have executed and delivered to the Rights Agent a supplemental agreement
providing for the

                                      -18-
<PAGE>

terms set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this Section 13 and further
providing that, as soon as practicable after the date of any consolidation,
merger or sale of assets mentioned in paragraph (a) of this Section 13, the
Principal Party will

                (i)  prepare and file a registration statement under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act"), with respect to the Rights and
the securities purchasable upon exercise of the Rights on an appropriate form,
will use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to become
effective as soon as practicable after such filing and will use its best efforts
to cause such registration statement to remain effective (with a prospectus at
all times meeting the requirements of the Act) until the date of expiration of
the Rights; and

                (ii) will deliver to holders of the Rights historical financial
statements for the Principal Party which comply in all respects with the
requirements for registration on Form 10 under the Exchange Act.  The provisions
of this Section 13 shall similarly apply to successive mergers or consolidations
or sales or other transfers.  In the event that one of the transactions
described in Section 13(a) hereof shall occur at any time after the occurrence
of a transaction described in Section 11(a)(ii) hereof, the Rights which have
not theretofore been exercised shall thereafter become exercisable in the manner
described in Section 13(a).

          (d) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary,
Section 13 shall not be applicable to a transaction described in subparagraphs
(x) and (y) of Section 13(a) if (i) such transaction is consummated with a
Person or Persons who acquired Common Shares pursuant to a tender offer or
exchange offer for all outstanding Common Shares which was carried out pursuant
to the exception contained in clause (2) of Section 11(a)(ii)(B) hereof (or a
wholly owned subsidiary of any such Person or Persons), (ii) the price per
Common Share offered in such transaction is not less than the price per Common
Share paid to all holders of Common Shares whose shares were purchased pursuant
to such tender offer or exchange offer, and (iii) the form of consideration
being offered to the remaining holders of Common Shares pursuant to such
transaction is the same as the form of consideration paid pursuant to such
tender offer or exchange offer.  Upon consummation of any such transaction
contemplated by this Section 13(d), all Rights hereunder shall expire.

                                      -19-
<PAGE>

          Section 14.  Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares.
                       ---------------------------------------

          (a) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Rights or
to distribute Right Certificates which evidence fractional Rights.  In lieu of
such fractional Rights, there shall be paid to the registered holders of the
Right Certificates with regard to which such fractional Rights would otherwise
be issuable, an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market
value of a whole Right.  For the purposes of this Section 14(a), the current
market value of a whole Right shall be the closing price of the Rights for the
Trading Day immediately prior to the date on which such fractional Rights would
have been otherwise issuable.  The closing price for any day shall be the last
sale price, regular way, or, in case no such sale takes place on such day, the
average of the closing bid and asked prices, regular way, in either case as
reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect
to securities listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange or,
if the Rights are not listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock
Exchange, as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system
with respect to securities listed on the principal national securities exchange
on which the Rights are listed or admitted to trading or, if the Rights are not
listed or admitted to trading on any national securities exchange, the last
quoted price or, if not so quoted, the average of the high bid and low asked
prices in the over-the-counter market, as reported by NASDAQ or such other
system then in use or, if on any such date the Rights are not quoted by any such
organization, the average of the closing bid and asked prices as furnished by a
professional market maker making a market in the Rights selected by the Board of
Directors of the Company.  If on any such date no such market maker is making a
market in the Rights the fair value of the Rights on such date as determined in
good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company shall be used.

          (b) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of shares
upon exercise of the Rights or to distribute certificates which evidence
fractional shares.  In lieu of fractional shares, the Company may pay to the
registered holders of Right Certificates at the time such Rights are exercised
as herein provided an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current
market value of one Common Share.  For purposes of this Section 14(b), the
current market value of a Common Share shall be the closing price of a Common
Share (as determined pursuant to the second sentence of Section 11(d) hereof)
for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of such exercise.

          (c) The holder of a Right by the acceptance of the Rights expressly
waives his right to receive any fractional Rights or any fractional shares upon
exercise of a Right.

          Section 15.  Rights of Action.  All rights of action in respect of
                       ----------------
this Agreement are vested in the respective registered holders of the Right
Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date, the registered holders of the
Common Shares); and any registered holder of any Right Certificate (or, prior to
the Distribution Date, of the Common Shares), without the consent of the Rights
Agent or of the holder of any other Right Certificate (or, prior to the
Distribution Date, of the Common Shares), may, in his

                                      -20-
<PAGE>

own behalf and for his own benefit, enforce, and may institute and maintain any
suit, action or proceeding against the Company to enforce, or otherwise act in
respect of, his right to exercise the Rights evidenced by such Right Certificate
in the manner provided in such Right Certificate and in this Agreement. Without
limiting the foregoing or any remedies available to the holders of Rights, it is
specifically acknowledged that the holders of Rights would not have an adequate
remedy at law for any breach of this Agreement and will be entitled to specific
performance of the obligations under, and injunctive relief against actual or
threatened violations of, the obligations of any Person subject to this
Agreement.

          Section 16.  Agreement of Right Holders.  Every holder of a Right by
                       --------------------------
accepting the same consents and agrees with the Company and the Rights Agent and
with every other holder of a Right that:

          (a) prior to the Distribution Date, the Rights will be transferable
only in connection with the transfer of the Common Shares;

          (b) after the Distribution Date, the Right Certificates are
transferable only on the registry books of the Rights Agent if surrendered at
the principal office of the Rights Agent, duly endorsed or accompanied by a
proper instrument of transfer; and

          (c) the Company and the Rights Agent may deem and treat the person in
whose name the Right Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, the
associated Common Shares certificate) is registered as the absolute owner
thereof and of the Rights evidenced thereby (notwithstanding any notations of
ownership or writing on the Right Certificates or the associated Common Shares
certificate made by anyone other than the Company or the Rights Agent) for all
purposes whatsoever, and neither the Company nor the Rights Agent shall be
affected by any notice to the contrary.

          Section 17.  Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder.  No holder,
                       -------------------------------------------
as such, of any Right Certificate shall be entitled to vote, receive dividends
or be deemed for any purpose the holder of the Common Shares or any other
securities of the Company which may at any time be issuable on the exercise of
the Rights represented thereby, nor shall anything contained herein or in any
Right Certificate be construed to confer upon the holder of any Right
Certificate, as such, any of the rights of a stockholder of the Company or any
right to vote for the election of directors or upon any matter submitted to
stockholders at any meeting thereof, or to give or withhold consent to any
corporate action, or to receive notice of meetings or other actions affecting
stockholders (except as provided in Section 24 hereof), or to receive dividends
or subscription rights, or otherwise, until the Right or Rights evidenced by
such Right Certificate shall have been exercised in accordance with the
provisions hereof.

          Section 18.  Concerning the Rights Agent.  The Company agrees to pay
                       ---------------------------
to the Rights Agent reasonable compensation for all services rendered by it
hereunder and, from time to time, on demand of the Rights Agent, its reasonable
expenses and counsel fees and other disbursements incurred in the administration
and execution of this Agreement and the exercise and performance of its duties
hereunder.  The

                                      -21-
<PAGE>

Company also agrees to indemnify the Rights Agent for, and to hold it harmless
against, any loss, liability or expense, incurred without gross negligence, bad
faith or willful misconduct on the part of the Rights Agent, for anything done
or omitted by the Rights Agent in connection with the acceptance and
administration of this Agreement, including the costs and expenses of defending
against any claim of liability in the premises.

          The Rights Agent shall be protected and shall incur no liability for
or in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted by it in connection with
its administration of this Agreement in reliance upon any Right Certificate or
certificate for the Common Shares or for other securities of the Company,
instrument of assignment or transfer, power of attorney, endorsement, affidavit,
letter, notice, direction, consent, certificate, statement, or other paper or
document believed by it to be genuine and to be signed, executed and, where
necessary, verified or acknowledged, by the proper person or persons.

          Section 19.  Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights
                       ---------------------------------------------------
Agent.  Any corporation into which the Rights Agent or any successor Rights
-----
Agent may be merged or with which it may be consolidated, or any corporation
resulting from any merger or consolidation to which the Rights Agent or any
successor Rights Agent shall be a party, or any corporation succeeding to the
stock transfer or corporate trust business of the Rights Agent or any successor
Rights Agent, shall be the successor to the Rights Agent under this Agreement
without the execution or filing of any paper or any further act on the part of
any of the parties hereto, provided that such corporation would be eligible for
appointment as a successor Rights Agent under the provisions of Section 21
hereof.  In case at the time such successor Rights Agent shall succeed to the
agency created by this Agreement, any of the Right Certificates shall have been
countersigned but not delivered, any such successor Rights Agent may adopt the
countersignature of the predecessor Rights Agent and deliver such Right
Certificates so countersigned; and in case at that time any of the Right
Certificates shall not have been countersigned, any successor Rights Agent may
countersign such Right Certificates either in the name of the predecessor Rights
Agent or in the name of the successor Rights Agent; and in all such cases such
Right Certificates shall have the full force provided in the Right Certificates
and in this Agreement.

          In case at any time the name of the Rights Agent shall be changed and
at such time any of the Right Certificates shall have been countersigned but not
delivered, the Rights Agent may adopt the countersignature under its prior name
and deliver Right Certificates so countersigned; and in case at that time any of
the Right Certificates shall not have been countersigned, the Rights Agent may
countersign such Right Certificates either in is prior name or in its changed
name; and in all such cases such Right Certificates shall have the full force
provided in the Right Certificates and in this Agreement.

          Section 20.  Duties of Rights Agent.  The Rights Agent undertakes the
                       ----------------------
duties and obligations imposed by this Agreement upon the following terms and

                                      -22-
<PAGE>

conditions, by all of which the Company and the holders of Right Certificates,
by their acceptance thereof, shall be bound:

          (a) The Rights Agent may consult with legal counsel (who may be legal
counsel for the Company), and the opinion of such counsel shall be full and
complete authorization and protection to the Rights Agent as to any action taken
or omitted by it in good faith and in accordance with such opinion.

          (b) Whenever in the performance of its duties under this Agreement the
Rights Agent shall deem it necessary or desirable that any fact or matter be
proved or established by the Company prior to taking or suffering any action
hereunder, such fact or matter (unless other evidence in respect thereof be
herein specifically prescribed) may be deemed to be conclusively proved and
established by a certificate signed by any one of the Chief Executive Officer,
the President, a Vice President, the Treasurer or the Secretary of the Company
and delivered to the Rights Agent; and such certificate shall be full
authorization to the Rights Agent for any action taken or suffered in good faith
by it under the provisions of this Agreement in reliance upon such certificate.

          (c) The Rights Agent shall be liable hereunder only for its own gross
negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct.

          (d) The Rights Agent shall not be liable for or by reason of any of
the statements of fact or recitals contained in this Agreement or in the Right
Certificates (except as to its countersignature thereof) or be required to
verify the same, but all such statements and recitals are and shall be deemed to
have been made by the Company only.

          (e) The Rights Agent shall not be under any responsibility in respect
of the validity of this Agreement or the execution and delivery hereof (except
the due execution hereof by the Rights Agent) or in respect of the validity or
execution of any Right Certificate (except its countersignature thereof); nor
shall it be responsible for any breach by the Company of any covenant or
condition contained in this Agreement or in any Right Certificate; nor shall it
be responsible for any adjustment required under the provisions of Section 11 or
13 hereof or responsible for the manner, method or amount of any such adjustment
or the ascertaining of the existence of facts that would require any such
adjustment (except with respect to the exercise of Rights evidenced by Right
Certificates after actual notice of any such adjustment); nor shall it by any
act hereunder be deemed to make any representation or warranty as to the
authorization or reservation of any Common Shares to be issued pursuant to this
Agreement or any Right Certificate or as to whether any Common Shares will, when
so issued, be validly authorized and issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

          (f) The Company agrees that it will perform, execute, acknowledge and
deliver or cause to be performed, executed, acknowledged and delivered all such
further and other acts, instruments and assurances as may reasonably be required
by the Rights Agent for the carrying out or performing by the Rights Agent of
the provisions of this Agreement.

                                      -23-
<PAGE>

          (g) The Rights Agent is hereby authorized and directed to accept
instructions with respect to the performance of its duties hereunder from any
one of the Chief Executive Officer, the President, a Vice President, the
Secretary or the Treasurer of the Company, and to apply such officers for advice
or instructions in connection with its duties, and it shall not be liable for
any action taken or suffered to be taken by it in good faith in accordance with
instructions of any such officer.

          (h) The Rights Agent and any stockholder, director, officer or
employee of the Rights Agent may buy, sell or deal in any of the Rights or other
securities of the Company or become pecuniarily interested in any transaction in
which the Company may be interested, or contract with or lend money to the
Company or otherwise act as fully and freely as though it were not Rights Agent
under this Agreement.  Nothing herein shall preclude the Rights Agent from
acting in any other capacity for the Company or for any other legal entity.

          (i) The Rights Agent may execute and exercise any of the rights or
powers hereby vested in it or perform any duty hereunder itself or by or through
its attorneys or agents, and the Rights Agent shall not be answerable or
accountable for any act, default, neglect or misconduct of any such attorneys or
agents or for any loss to the Company resulting from any such act, default,
neglect or misconduct, provided reasonable care was exercised in the selection
and continued employment thereof.

          Section 21.  Change of Rights Agent.  The Rights Agent or any
                       ----------------------
successor Rights Agent may resign and be discharged from its duties under this
Agreement upon 30 days' notice in writing mailed to the Company and to each
transfer agent of the Common Shares by registered or certified mail, and to the
holders of the Right Certificates by first-class mail.  The Company may remove
the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent upon 30 days' notice in writing,
mailed to the Rights Agent or successor Rights Agent, as the case may be, and to
each transfer agent of the Common Shares by registered or certified mail, and to
the holders of the Right Certificates by first-class mail.  If the Rights Agent
shall resign or be removed or shall otherwise become incapable of acting, the
Company shall appoint a successor to the Rights Agent.  If the Company shall
fail to make such appointment within a period of 30 days after giving notice of
such removal or after it has been notified in writing of such resignation or
incapacity by the resigning or incapacitated Rights Agent or by the holder of a
Right Certificate (who shall, with such notice, submit his Right Certificate for
inspection by the Company), then the registered holder of any Right Certificate
may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a new
Rights Agent.  Any successor Rights Agent, whether appointed by the Company or
by such a court, shall be (a) a corporation organized and doing business under
the laws of the United States or of the State of New York (or of any other state
of the United States so long as such corporation is authorized to do business as
a banking institution in the State of New York), in good standing, having a
principal office in the State of New York, which is authorized under such laws
to exercise stock transfer or corporate trust powers and is subject to
supervision or examination by federal or state authority and which has at the
time of its appointment as Rights Agent a combined capital and surplus of at
least $10

                                      -24-
<PAGE>

million, or (b) an affiliate of a corporation described in clause (a) of this
sentence. After appointment, the successor Rights Agent shall be vested with the
same powers, rights, duties and responsibilities as if it had been originally
named as Rights Agent without further act or deed; but the predecessor Rights
Agent shall deliver and transfer to the successor Rights Agent any property at
the time held by it hereunder, and execute and deliver any further assurance,
conveyance, act or deed necessary for the purpose. Not later than the effective
date of any such appointment the Company shall file notice thereof in writing
with the predecessor Rights Agent and each transfer agent of the Common Shares,
and mail a notice thereof in writing to the registered holders of the Right
Certificates. Failure to give any notice provided for in this Section 21,
however, or any defect therein, shall not affect the legality or validity of the
resignation or removal of the Rights Agent or the appointment of the successor
Rights Agent, as the case may be.

          Section 22.  Issuance of New Rights Certificates.  Notwithstanding any
                       -----------------------------------
of the provisions of this Agreement or of the Rights to the contrary, the
Company may, at its option, issue new Right Certificates evidencing Rights in
such form as may be approved by its Board of Directors to reflect any adjustment
or change in the Purchase Price per share and the number or kind or class of
shares or other securities or property purchasable under the Right Certificates
made in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

          Section 23.  Redemption.
                       ----------

          (a) The Board of Directors of the Company may, at its option, at any
time prior to the earlier of (i) the close of business on the tenth business day
following the Shares Acquisition Date (or such later date as may be determined
by a majority of the Continuing Directors who are not officers of the Company;
provided, that this date shall not be extended at such time as the Rights are
--------
not then redeemable) or (ii) the Final Expiration Date, redeem all but not less
than all the then outstanding Rights at a redemption price of $.05 per Right, as
such amount may be appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, stock
dividend or similar transaction occurring after the date hereof (such redemption
price being hereinafter referred to as the "Redemption Price").  Notwithstanding
the foregoing, the Board of Directors may not redeem any Rights following a
determination that any Person is an Adverse Person.  Notwithstanding anything
contained in this Agreement to the contrary, the Rights shall not be exercisable
after the first occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event until such time as the
Company's right of redemption hereunder has expired.  The Company may, at its
option, pay the Redemption Price in cash, Common Shares (based on the "current
market price", as defined in Section 11(d) hereof, of the Common Shares at the
time of redemption) or any other form of consideration deemed appropriate by the
Board of Directors.

          (b) Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors of the
Company ordering the redemption of the Rights, and without any further action
and without any notice, the right to exercise the Rights will terminate and the
only right thereafter of the holders of Rights shall be to receive the
Redemption Price.  Within 10

                                      -25-
<PAGE>

days after the action of the Board of Directors ordering the redemption of the
Rights, the Company shall give notice of such redemption to the holders of the
then outstanding Rights by mailing such notice to all such holders at their last
addresses as they appear upon the registry books of the Rights Agent or, prior
to the Distribution Date, on the registry books of the Transfer Agent for the
Common Shares. Any notice which is mailed in the manner herein provided shall be
deemed given, whether or not the holder receives the notice. Each such notice of
redemption will state the method by which the payment of the Redemption Price
will be made.

          Section 24.  Notice of Certain Events.  In case the Company shall
                       ------------------------
propose (a) to pay any dividend payable in stock of any class to the holders of
Common Shares or to make any other distribution to the holders of Common Shares
(other than a regular periodic cash dividend at a rate not in excess of 125% of
the rate of the last regular periodic cash dividend theretofore paid) or (b) to
offer to the holders of Common Shares rights or warrants to subscribe for or to
purchase any additional Common Shares or shares of stock of any class or any
other securities, rights or options, or (c) to effect any reclassification of
its Common Shares (other than a reclassification involving only the subdivision
of outstanding Common Shares), or (d) to effect any consolidation or merger into
or with, or to effect any sale or other transfer (or to permit one or more of
its subsidiaries to effect any sale or other transfer), in one or more
transactions, of more than 50% of the assets or earning power of the Company and
its subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to, any other Person, or (e) to effect the
liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, then, in each such case,
the Company shall given to each holder of a Right Certificate, in accordance
with Section 25 hereof, a, notice of such proposed action, which shall specify
the record date for the purposes of such stock dividend, distribution of rights
or warrants, or the date on which such reclassification, consolidation, merger,
sale, transfer, liquidation, dissolution or winding up is to take place and the
date of participation therein by the holders of the Common Shares, if any such
date is to be fixed, and such notice shall be so given in the case of any action
covered by clause (a) or (b) above at least 20 days prior to the record date for
determining holders of the Common Shares for purposes of such action, and in the
case of any such other action, at least 20 days prior to the date of the taking
of such proposed action or the date of participation therein by the holders of
the Common Shares, whichever shall be the earlier.

          In case any of the events set forth in Section 11(a)(ii) of this
Agreement shall occur, then, in any such case, the Company shall as soon as
practicable thereafter give to each holder of a Right Certificate, in accordance
with Section 25 hereof, a notice of the occurrence of such event, which shall
specify the event and the consequences of the event to holders of Rights under
Section 11(a)(ii) hereof.

          Section 25.  Notices.  Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement
                       -------
to be given or made by the Rights Agent or by the holder of any Right
Certificate to or on the Company shall be sufficiently given or made if sent by
first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed (until another address is filed in
writing with the Rights Agent) as follows:

                                      -26-
<PAGE>

                       Carpenter Technology Corporation
                       1047 North Park Road
                       Wyomissing, PA  19610-1339
                       Attention: Corporate Secretary

Subject to the provisions of Section 21 hereof, any notice or demand authorized
by this Agreement to be given or made by the Company or by the holder of any
Right Certificate to or on the Rights Agent shall be sufficiently given or made
if sent by first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed (until another address
is filed in writing with the Company) as follows:

                       American Stock Transfer & Trust Company
                       59 Maiden Lane
                       New York, New York 10007
                       Attention: Tenders and Exchanges Administration

Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the
Company or the Rights Agent to the holder of any Right Certificate shall be
sufficiently given or made if sent by first-class mail, postage prepaid,
addressed to such holder at the address of such holder as shown on the registry
books of the Company.

          Section 26.  Supplements and Amendments.  The Company and the Rights
                       --------------------------
Agent may from time to time supplement or amend this Agreement without the
approval of any holders of Right Certificates in order to cure any ambiguity, to
correct or supplement any provision contained herein which may be defective or
inconsistent with any other provisions herein, or to make any other provisions
in regard to matters or questions arising hereunder which the Company and the
Rights Agent may deem necessary or desirable and which shall not adversely
affect the interests of the holders of Right Certificates.

          Section 27.  Successors.  All the covenants and provisions of this
                       ----------
Agreement by or for the benefit of the Company or the Rights Agent shall bind
and inure to the benefit of their respective successors and assigns hereunder.

          Section 28.  Benefits of this Agreement.  Nothing in this Agreement
                       --------------------------
shall be construed to give to any person or corporation other than the Company,
the Rights Agent and the registered holders of the Right Certificates (and,
prior to the Distribution Date, the Common Shares) any legal or equitable right,
remedy or claim under this Agreement; but this Agreement shall be for the sole
and exclusive benefit of the Company, the Rights Agent and the registered
holders of the Right Certificates.

          Section 29.  Severability.  If any term, provision, covenant or
                       ------------
restriction of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction or
other authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the terms
provisions, covenants and restrictions of this Agreement shall remain in full
force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated;
provided, however, that notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the
--------
contrary, if any such term, provision, covenant or restriction is

                                      -27-
<PAGE>

held by such court or authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable and the
Board of Directors of the Company determines in its good faith judgment that
severing the invalid language from this Agreement would adversely affect the
purpose or effect of this Agreement, the right of redemption set forth in
Section 23 hereof shall be reinstated and shall not expire until the close of
business on the tenth day following the date of such determination by the Board
of Directors. Without limiting the foregoing, if any provision requiring a
majority of the Board of Directors of the Company to be Continuing Directors to
act is held by any court of competent jurisdiction or other authority to be
invalid, void or unenforceable, such determination shall then be made by the
Board of Directors of the Company in accordance with applicable law and the
Company's Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws.

          Section 30.  Governing Law.  This Agreement and each Right Certificate
                       -------------
issued hereunder shall be deemed to be a contract made under the laws of the
State of Delaware and for all purposes shall be governed by and construed in
accordance with the laws of such State applicable to contracts to be made and
performed entirely within such State.

          Section 31.  Counterparts.  This Agreement may be executed in any
                       ------------
number of counterparts and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be
deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute
but one and the same instrument.

          Section 32.  Descriptive Headings.  Descriptive headings of the
                       --------------------
several Sections of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and shall
not control or affect the meaning or construction of any of the provisions
hereof.

          IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to
be duly executed and their respective corporate seals to be hereunto affixed and
attested, all as of the day and year first above written.

                                    CARPENTER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION

Attest:


By _________________________        By ______________________
   Title                               Title


                                    AMERICAN STOCK TRANFER & TRUST COMPANY,
                                    successor to Morgan Guaranty Trust Company
                                    of New York

Attest:

                                      -28-
<PAGE>

By _________________________        By ______________________
   Title                               Title

                                      -29-
<PAGE>

                                                                       EXHIBIT A
                                                                       ---------
                          [Form of Right Certificate]

Certificate No. R-                                          ______ Rights

     NOT EXERCISABLE AFTER JUNE 26, 2006 OR EARLIER IF NOTICE OF REDEMPTION IS
     GIVEN. THE RIGHTS ARE SUBJECT TO REDEMPTION, AT THE OPTION OF THE COMPANY,
     AT $.05 PER RIGHT ON THE TERMS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT. UNDER
     CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, RIGHTS BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY AN ACQUIRING PERSON OR
     AN ADVERSE PERSON (AS SUCH TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT) AND
     ANY SUBSEQUENT HOLDER MAY BECOME NULL AND VOID. [THE RIGHTS REPRESENTED BY
     THIS CERTIFICATE WERE BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY A PERSON WHO WAS OR BECAME AN
     [ACQUIRING] [ADVERSE] PERSON OR AN ASSOCIATE OR AFFILIATE OF AN (ACQUIRING]
     [ADVERSE] PERSON. THIS RIGHT CERTIFICATE AND THE RIGHTS REPRESENTED HEREBY
     MAY BECOME VOID IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES SPECIFIED IN SECTION 7(e) OF THE
     RIGHTS AGREEMENT.]*

_____________________________
*    The portion of the legend in brackets shall be inserted only if applicable.

                                      A-1
<PAGE>

                               Right Certificate

                       CARPENTER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION


          This certifies that _______________________, or registered assigns, is
the registered owner of the number of Rights set forth above, each of which
entitles the owner thereof, subject to the terms, provisions and conditions of
the Rights Agreement dated as of June 26, 1986, as amended (the "Rights
Agreement") between Carpenter Technology Corporation, a Delaware corporation
(the "Company"), and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, successor to
Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York (the "Rights Agent"), to purchase from
the Company at any time after the Distribution Date (as such term is defined in
the Rights Agreement) and prior to the close of business on June 26, 2006, at
the principal office of the Rights Agent, or its successors as Rights Agent, in
New York, New York, one fully paid, nonassessable share of the Common Stock (the
"Common Shares") of the Company, at a purchase price of $145 per share (the
"Purchase Price"), upon presentation and surrender of this Right Certificate
with the Form of Election to Purchase and related certificate duly executed. The
number of Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate (and the number of shares
which may be purchased upon exercise thereof) set forth above, and the Purchase
Price per share set forth above, are the number and Purchase Price as of April
23, 1996, based on the Common Shares as constituted at such date.

          Upon the occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event (as such term is
defined in the Rights Agreement), if the Rights evidenced by this Rights
Certificate are beneficially owned by (i) an Acquiring Person, an Adverse Person
or an Affiliate or Associate of any such Person (as such terms are defined in
the Rights Agreement), (ii) a transferee of any such Acquiring Person, Adverse
Person, Associate or Affiliate, or (iii) under certain circumstances specified
in the Rights Agreement, a transferee of a person who, after such transfer,
became an Acquiring Person, an Adverse Person or an Affiliate or Associate of
any such Person, such Rights shall become null and void and no holder hereof
shall have any right with respect to such Rights from and after the occurrence
of such Section 11(a)(ii) Event.

          As provided in the Rights Agreement, the Purchase Price and the number
of Common Shares or cash which may be purchased upon the exercise of the Rights
evidenced by this Right Certificate are subject to modification and adjustment
upon the happening of certain events.

          This Right Certificate is subject to all of the terms, provisions and
conditions of the Rights Agreement, which terms, provisions and conditions are
hereby incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof and to which
Rights Agreement reference is hereby made for a full description of the rights,
limitations of rights, obligations, duties and immunities hereunder of the
Rights Agent, the Company and the holders of the Right Certificates. Copies of
the Rights Agreement are on file at the above-mentioned office of the Rights
Agent.

                                      A-2
<PAGE>

          This Right Certificate, with or without other Right Certificates, upon
surrender at the principal office of the Rights Agent, may be exchanged for
another Right Certificate or Right Certificates of like tenor and date
evidencing Rights entitling the holder to purchase a like aggregate number of
Common Shares as the Rights evidenced by the Right Certificate or Right
Certificates surrendered shall have entitled such holder to purchase. If this
Right Certificate shall be exercised in part, the holder shall be entitled to
receive upon surrender hereof another Right Certificate or Right Certificates
for the number of whole Rights not exercised.

          Subject to the provisions of the Rights Agreement, the Rights
evidenced by this Certificate may (unless the Board of Directors shall have made
a determination that a Person is an Adverse Person) be redeemed by the Company
at its option at a redemption price of $.05 per Right, at any time prior to the
earlier of the close of business on (i) the 10th day following the Stock
Acquisition Date (as such time period may be extended pursuant to the Rights
Agreement) and (ii) the Final Expiration Date which price is subject to
adjustment in certain circumstances as set forth in the Rights Agreement.

          No fractional Common Shares will be issued upon the exercise of any
Right or Rights evidenced hereby, but in lieu thereof a cash payment will be
made, as provided in the Rights Agreement.

          No holder of this Right Certificate shall be entitled to vote or
receive dividends or be deemed for any purpose the holder of the Common Shares
or of any other securities of the Company which may at any time be issuable on
the exercise hereof, nor shall anything contained in the Rights Agreement or
herein be construed to confer upon the holder hereof, as such, any of the rights
of a stockholder of the Company or any right to vote for the election of
directors or upon any matter submitted to stockholders at any meeting thereof,
or to give or withhold consent to any corporate action, or, to receive notice of
meetings or other actions affecting stockholders (except as provided in the
Rights Agreement), or to receive dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise,
until the Right or Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate shall have been
Exercised as provided in the Rights Agreement.

                                      A-3
<PAGE>

          This Right Certificate shall not be valid or obligatory for any
purpose until it shall have been countersigned by the Rights Agent.

          WITNESS the facsimile signature of the proper officers of the Company
and its corporate seal.

Dated as of ________ __, 19__


ATTEST:                                        CARPENTER TECHNOLOGY
CORPORATION


_____________________________                  By  ___________________________
        Secretary                                  Title:

Countersigned:

Rights Agent

By   ________________________


                                      A-4
<PAGE>

                  [Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate]

                              FORM OF ASSIGNMENT
                              ------------------

               (To be executed by the registered holder if such
              holder desires to transfer the Right Certificates.)

          FOR VALUE RECEIVED ____________________________ hereby sells, assigns
and transfers unto __________________


________________________________________________________________________________
                 (Please Print name and address of transferee)

________________________________________________________________________________
this Right Certificate, together with all right, title and interest therein, and
does hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint _______________ Attorney, to
transfer the within Right Certificate on the books of the within named Company,
with full power of substitution.

Dated:  ________________, 19__


                                   ________________________
                                   Signature


Signature Guaranteed:

                                      A-5
<PAGE>

                                  CERTIFICATE

          The undersigned hereby certifies by checking the appropriate boxes
that:

          (1)  this Right Certificate [_] is [_] is not being sold, assigned and
transferred by or on behalf of a Person who is or was an Acquiring Person, an
Adverse Person or an Affiliate or Associate of any such Person (as such terms
are defined pursuant to the Rights Agreement);

          (2)  after due inquiry and to the best knowledge of the undersigned,
it [_] did [_] did not acquire the Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate
from any Person who is, was or subsequently became an Acquiring Person, Adverse
Person or an Affiliate or Associate of any such Person.

Dated:  ________________, 19__

                                   ________________________
                                   Signature


Signature Guaranteed:


                                   NOTICE
                                   ------

     The signature to the foregoing Assignment must correspond to the name as
written upon the face of this Right Certificate in every particular, without
alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever.

                                      A-6
<PAGE>

                         FORM OF ELECTION TO PURCHASE
                         ----------------------------

                     (To be executed if holder desires to
                       exercise the Right Certificate.)

     To CARPENTER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION:

          The undersigned hereby irrevocably elected to exercise __________
Rights represented by this Right Certificate to purchase the Common Shares
issuable upon the exercise of such Rights (or such other securities or cash of
the Company or of any other person which may be issuable upon the exercise of
the Rights) and requests that certificates for such shares be issued in the name
of:

Please insert social security
or other identifying number

     ___________________________________________________________
               (Please print name and address)

     ___________________________________________________________

     If such number of Rights shall not be all the Rights evidenced by this
     Right Certificate, a new Right Certificate for the balance remaining of
     such Rights shall be registered in the name of and delivered to:

     Please insert social security
     or other identifying number

     ___________________________________________________________
               (Please print name and address)

     ___________________________________________________________

     Dated:  ______________,  19-

                                    ________________________
                                    Signature

                                    (Signature must conform in all respects to
                                    name of holder as specified on the fact of
                                    this Right Certificate)

Signature Guaranteed:

                                      A-7
<PAGE>

                                 CERTIFICATE
                                 -----------

        The undersigned hereby certifies by checking the appropriate boxes that:

        (1)  the Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate [ ] are [ ] are
not being exercised by or on behalf of a Person who is or was an Acquiring
Person, an Adverse Person or an Affiliate or Associate of any such Person (as
such terms are defined pursuant to the Rights Agreement); and

        (2)  after due inquiry and to the best knowledge of the undersigned,
it [ ] did [ ] did not acquire the Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate
from any Person who is, was or subsequently became an Acquiring Person, an
Adverse Person or an Affiliate or Associate of any such Person.

Dated: __________, 19___


                                       _________________________
                                        Signature

Signature Guaranteed:

                                    NOTICE
                                    ------

        The signature to the foregoing Election to Purchase and Certificate
must correspond to the name as written upon the face of this Right Certificate
in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever.

                                      A-8










<PAGE>

                                   EXHIBIT B
                                   ---------

                  SUMMARY OF RIGHTS TO PURCHASE COMMON SHARES

                  On May 11, 1989, the Board of Directors of Carpenter
Technology Corporation (the "Company") amended the Rights Agreement dated as of
June 26, 1986 between the Company and Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York
as Rights Agent (the "Rights Agreement"). Each Right entitles the registered
holder to purchase from the Company one Common Share at a Purchase Price of
$90.00 per share, subject to adjustment. The description and terms of the Rights
are set forth in the Rights Agreement.

                  Initially, the Rights will be attached to all certificates
representing Common Shares then outstanding, and no separate Rights Certificates
will be distributed. The Rights will separate from the Common Shares and a
Distribution Date will occur upon the earliest of (i) 10 days following a public
announcement that a person or group of affiliated or associated persons (an
"Acquiring Person") has acquired, or obtained the right to acquire, beneficial
ownership of 20% or more of the outstanding Common Shares, (the date of such
announcement being the "Shares Acquisition Date"), (ii) 10 Business Days
following the commencement of a tender offer or exchange offer for 20% or more
of such outstanding Common Shares or (iii) 10 days after the Board of Directors
of the Company determines any person, alone or together with its affiliates and
associates, has become the Beneficial Owner of an amount of Common Shares which
the Board of Directors determines to be substantial (which amount shall in no
event be less than 15% of the Common Shares outstanding) and at least a majority
of the Board of Directors who are not officers of the Company, after reasonable
inquiry and investigation, including consultation with such persons as such
directors shall deem appropriate, shall determine that (a) such beneficial
ownership by such person is intended to cause the Company to repurchase the
Common Shares beneficially owned by such person or to cause pressure on the
Company to take action or enter into a transaction or series of transactions
intended to provide such person with short-term financial gain under
circumstances where the Board of Directors determines that the best long-term
interests of the Company and its stockholders would not be served by taking such
action or entering into such transactions or series of transactions at that time
or (b) such beneficial ownership is causing or reasonably likely to cause a
material adverse impact (including, but not limited to, impairment of
relationships with customers or impairment of the Company's ability to maintain
its competitive position) on the business or prospects of the Company (any such
person being referred to herein and in the Rights Agreement as an "Adverse
Person").

          Until the Distribution Date, (i) the Rights will be evidenced by the
Common Share certificates and will be transferred with and only with such Common
Share certificates, (ii) new Common Share certificates issued after May 11, 1989
will contain a notation incorporating the amended Rights Agreement by reference
and (iii) the surrender for transfer of any certificate for Common Shares
outstanding will also

                                      B-1
<PAGE>

constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with the Common Shares
represented by such certificate.

          The Rights are not exercisable until the Distribution Date and will
expire at the close of business on June 26, 1996, unless earlier redeemed by the
Company as described below.

          As soon as practicable after the Distribution Date, Rights
Certificates will be mailed to holders of record of Common Shares as of the
close of business on the Distribution Date and, thereafter, the separate Rights
Certificates alone will represent the Rights.

          In the event that (i) a Person becomes the beneficial owner of more
than 20% of the then outstanding Common Shares (except pursuant to an offer for
all outstanding Common Shares which the Continuing Directors determine to be
fair to and otherwise in the best interests of the Company and its
stockholders), (ii) any Acquiring Person, or any Associate or Affiliate of any
Acquiring Person engages in a merger or other business combination with the
Company, and its Common Shares are not changed or exchanged, (iii) an Acquiring
Person engages in one or more "self-dealing' transactions as set forth in the
Rights Agreement, or (iv) the Board of Directors determines that a person is an
Adverse Person, each holder of a Right will thereafter have the right to
receive, upon exercise, Common Shares (or, in certain circumstances, a
combination of Common Shares and cash), having a value equal to two times the
exercise price of the Right. Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, following the
occurrence of any of the events set forth in this paragraph, all Rights that
are, or (under certain circumstances specified in the Rights Agreement) were,
beneficially owned by any Acquiring Person or an Adverse Person will be null and
void. However, Rights are not exercisable following the occurrence of any of the
events set forth above until such time as the Rights are no longer redeemable by
the Company as set forth below.

          For example, at an exercise price of $90 per Right, each Right not
owned by an Acquiring Person (or by certain related parties) following an event
set forth in the preceding paragraph would entitle its holder to purchase $180
worth of Common Shares (or other consideration, as noted above) for $90.
Assuming that the Common Shares had a per share value of $45 at such time, the
holder of each valid Right would be entitled to purchase four Common Shares for
$90.

          In the event that, at any time following the Shares Acquisition Date,
(i) the Company is acquired in a merger or other business combination
transaction with any Acquiring Person (other than a merger described in the
second preceding paragraph or a merger which follows an offer described in the
second preceding paragraph), or (ii) 50% or more of the Company's assets or
earning power is sold or transferred to an Acquiring Person, each holder of a
Right (except Rights which previously have been voided as set forth above) shall
thereafter have the right to receive, upon exercise, common stock of the
acquiring company having a value equal to two times the exercise price of the
Right. The events set forth in this paragraph and in the second preceding
paragraph are referred to as the "Triggering Events."

                                      B-2
<PAGE>

          The Purchase Price payable, and the number of Common Shares issuable,
upon exercise of the Rights are subject to adjustment from time to time to
prevent dilution (i) in the event of a stock dividend on, or a subdivision,
combination or reclassification of, the Common Shares, (ii) if holders of the
Common Shares are granted certain rights or warrants to subscribe for Common
Shares or convertible securities at less than the current market price of the
Common Shares, or (iii) upon the distribution to holders of the Common Shares of
evidences of indebtedness or assets (excluding regular quarterly cash dividends
at a rate not in excess of 125% of the rate of the last cash dividend
theretofore paid or dividends payable in Common Shares) or of subscription
rights or warrants (other than those referred to above).

          With certain exceptions, no adjustment in the Purchase Price will be
required until cumulative adjustments amount to at least 1% of the Purchase
Price. No fractional Common Shares will be issued and, in lieu thereof, an
adjustment in cash will be made based on the market price of the Common Shares
on the last trading date prior to the date of exercise.

          In general, the Company may redeem the Rights in whole, but not in
part, at a price of $.05 per Right, at any time until ten Business Days
following the Shares Acquisition Date. At any time prior to the date the Rights
would otherwise become nonredeemable, the Board may extend the period for
redemption. Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors ordering
redemption of the Rights, the Rights will terminate and the only right of the
holders of Rights will be to receive the $.05 redemption price.

          Until a Right is exercised, the holder thereof, as such, will have no
rights as a stockholder of the Company, including, without limitation, the right
to vote or to receive dividends. While the distribution of the Rights will not
be taxable to stockholders or to the Company, stockholders may, depending upon
the circumstances, recognize taxable income in the event that the Rights become
exercisable for Common Shares (or other consideration) of the Company or for
common stock of the acquiring company as set forth above.

          The Rights Agreement may be amended by the Board of Directors of the
Company with the approval of the Rights Agent at any time in order to cure any
ambiguity or to make changes which do not adversely affect the interests of
holders of Rights.

          A copy of amendments to the Rights Agreement will be filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission as an Exhibit to an Amendment to Application
or Report on Form 8. A copy of the Rights Agreement is available free of charge
from the Company. This summary description of the Rights does not purport to be
complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Rights Agreement,
which is incorporated herein by reference.

                                      B-3