<PAGE>
 
                           RENEWED RIGHTS AGREEMENT
                           ------------------------

          RENEWED RIGHTS AGREEMENT, dated as of September 25, 1996 (the
"Agreement"), between Lukens Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), and
American Stock Transfer and Trust Company (the "Rights Agent").

                              W I T N E S S E T H
                              - - - - - - - - - -

          WHEREAS, on July 29, 1987, the Board of Directors of the Company (the
"Board") adopted a stockholder rights plan (the "Existing Rights Plan") and
executed a Rights Agreement, dated as of July 29, 1987, between the Company and
Mellon Bank (East) N.A., which agreement was amended as of July 25, 1990 (as so
amended, the "Existing Rights Agreement"); and

          WHEREAS, the Existing Rights Plan is scheduled to expire on August 10,
1997; and

          WHEREAS, on September 25, 1996, the Board determined it desirable and
in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders for the Company to
renew the Existing Rights Plan upon its expiration and to implement such renewal
by executing this Agreement and declaring the dividend distribution referred to
in the next WHEREAS clause; and

          WHEREAS, on September 25, 1996 (the "Rights Dividend Declaration
Date"), the Board authorized and declared a dividend distribution of one Right
(as hereinafter defined) for each share of Common Stock (as hereinafter defined)
of the Company outstanding upon the "Expiration Date" under the Existing Rights
Agreement (the "Record Date") and authorized the issuance of one Right (subject
to adjustment) for each share of Common Stock of the Company issued between the
Record Date (whether originally issued or delivered from the Company's treasury)
and the Distribution Date (as hereinafter defined), and under certain
circumstances thereafter, each Right initially representing the right to
purchase one one-hundredth of a share (subject to adjustment) of Preferred Stock
(as hereinafter defined), upon the terms and subject to the conditions
hereinafter set forth (a "Right").
<PAGE>
 
          NOW, THEREFORE, 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 hereinafter
defined) who or which, together with all Affiliates (as hereinafter defined) and
Associates (as hereinafter defined) of such Person, shall be the Beneficial
Owner (as hereinafter defined) of 15% or more of the shares of Common Stock of
the Company then outstanding, but shall not include an Exempt Person (as
hereinafter defined).

                (b)  "Act" shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

                (c)  "Adjustment Shares" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(a)(ii) hereof.

                (d)  "Adverse Person" shall mean any Person declared to be an
Adverse Person by the Board (with the concurrence of a majority of the Outside
Directors (as hereinafter defined)) upon the determination that the criteria set
forth in Section 11(a)(ii)(D) hereof apply to such Person.

                (e)  "Affiliate" and "Associate" shall have the respective
meanings ascribed to such terms in Rule 12b-2 of the General Rules and
Regulations under the Exchange Act (as hereinafter defined).

                (f)  "Agreement" shall have the meaning set forth in the first
paragraph hereof.

                (g)  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, directly or indirectly, has the right to acquire (whether such
     right is exercisable immediately or only after the passage of time)
     pursuant to any agreement, arrange-

                                       2
<PAGE>
 
     ment or understanding (whether or not in writing) or upon the exercise of
     conversion rights, exchange rights, rights, warrants or options, or
     otherwise; provided, however, that a Person shall not be deemed the
                --------  -------                                       
     "Beneficial Owner" of, or to "beneficially own," (A) securities tendered
     pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made by such Person or any of such
     Person's Affiliates or Associates until such tendered securities are
     accepted for purchase or exchange, or (B) securities issuable upon exercise
     of Rights at any time prior to the occurrence of a Triggering Event (as
     hereinafter defined), or (C) securities issuable upon exercise of Rights
     from and after the occurrence of a Triggering Event which Rights were
     acquired by such Person or any of such Person's Affiliates or Associates
     prior to the Distribution Date or pursuant to Section 3(a) or Section 22
     hereof (the "Original Rights") or pursuant to Section 11(i) hereof in
     connection with an adjustment made with respect to any Original Rights;

                (ii)  which such Person or any of such Person's Affiliates or
     Associates, directly or indirectly, has the right to vote or dispose of or
     has "beneficial ownership" of (as determined pursuant to Rule 13d-3 of the
     General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act), including pursuant
     to any agreement, arrangement or understanding, whether or not in writing;
     provided, however, that a Person shall not be deemed the "Beneficial Owner"
     --------  -------                                                          
     of, or to "beneficially own," any security under this subparagraph (ii) as
     a result of an agreement, arrangement or understanding to vote such
     security if such agreement, arrangement or understanding: (A) arises solely
     from a revocable proxy given in response to a public proxy or consent
     solicitation made pursuant to, and in accordance with, the applicable
     provisions of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act, and
     (B) is not also then reportable by such Person 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 (or any Affiliate or Associate thereof) with which such
     Person (or any of such Person's Affiliates or Associates) has any
     agreement, arrangement or under-

                                       3
<PAGE>
 
     standing (whether or not in writing), for the purpose of acquiring,
     holding, voting (except pursuant to a revocable proxy as described in the
     proviso to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph (g)) or disposing of any
     voting securities of the Company; provided, however, that nothing in this
                                       --------  -------                      
     paragraph (g) 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.

                (h)  "Board" shall have the meaning set forth in the first
WHEREAS clause at the beginning of the Agreement.

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

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

                (k) "Common Stock" shall mean the common stock, presently having
a par value of $0.01 per share, of the Company or any other shares of capital
stock of the Company into which such stock shall be reclassified or changed;
provided, however, (i) that "Common Stock," when used with reference to any
--------  -------
Person other than the Company organized in corporate form, shall mean the
capital stock or other equity security of such Person with the greatest voting
power, or the equity securities or other equity interest having power to control
or direct the management, of such Person or, if such Person is a Subsidiary (as
hereinafter defined) of another Person, the Person which ultimately controls
such first-mentioned Person and which has issued any such outstanding capital
stock, equity securities or equity interests and (ii) "Common Stock," when used
with reference to any Person which shall not be organized in corporate form,
means

                                       4
<PAGE>
 
units of beneficial interest which (A) shall represent the right to participate
generally in the profits and losses of such Person (including, without
limitation, any flow-through tax benefits resulting from an ownership interest
in such Person) and (B) shall be entitled to exercise the greatest voting power
of such Person or, in the case of a limited partnership, shall have the power to
remove the general partner or partners.

                (l)  "Common Stock Equivalents" shall have the meaning set forth
in Section 11(a)(iii) hereof.

                (m)  "Company" shall have the meaning set forth in the first
paragraph of the Agreement.

                (n)  "Current Market Price" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(d)(i) hereof.

                (o)  "Current Value" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
11(a)(iii) hereof.

                (p)  "Distribution Date" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 3(a) hereof.

                (q)  "Equivalent Preferred Stock" shall have the meaning set
forth in Section 11(b) hereof.

                (r)  "Exchange Act" shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended.

                (s)  "Exempt Person" shall mean (i) the Company, (ii) any
Subsidiary of the Company, (iii) any employee benefit plan of the Company or of
any Subsidiary of the Company, (iv) any Person or entity organized, appointed or
established by the Company for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan, (v)
any Person or group of Persons (as determined pursuant to Section 13(d)(3) of
the Exchange Act) which was, as of the date of this Agreement, the Beneficial
Owner of 15% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding or (vi) any
Person who (A) is the Beneficial Owner of less than 25% of the Common Stock of
the Company then outstanding and has reported such ownership on Schedule 13G
under the Exchange Act (or any comparable or successor report) or on Schedule
13D under the Exchange Act (or any comparable or successor report) which
Schedule 13D, as amended from time to time, does not state any intention to or
reserve

                                       5
<PAGE>
 
the right to control or influence the management or policies of the Company or
engage in any of the actions specified in Item 4 of Schedule 13D (other than the
disposition of the Common Stock of the Company), (B) within 10 Business Days of
being requested by the Company to advise the Company regarding its intentions,
certifies to the Company that such Person acquired shares of Common Stock of the
Company in excess of 14.99% inadvertently or without knowledge of the terms of
the Rights, (C) the Company determines acquired shares of Common Stock of the
Company in excess of 14.99% inadvertently or without knowledge of the terms of
the Rights and (D) together with its Affiliates and Associates, thereafter does
not acquire additional shares of Common Stock of the Company while the
Beneficial Owner of 15% or more of the shares of Common Stock of the Company
then outstanding.

                (t)  "Expiration Date" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 7(a) hereof.

                (u)  "Final Expiration Date" shall mean the Close of Business on
September 25, 2006.

                (v)  "NASDAQ" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
11(d)(i) hereof.

                (w)  "Outside Directors" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(a)(ii)(B) hereof.

                (x)  "Person" shall mean any individual, firm, corporation,
partnership, trust or other entity.

                (y)  "Preferred Stock" shall mean shares of Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock, presently having a par value of $0.01 per share,
of the Company.

                (z)  "Principal Party" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 13(b) hereof.

                (aa)  "Purchase Price" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 4(a) hereof.

                (ab)  "Record Date" shall have the meaning set forth in the
fourth WHEREAS clause at the beginning of the Agreement.

                                       6
<PAGE>
 
                (ac)  "Redemption Price" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 23(a) hereof.

                (ad)  "Right" shall have the meaning set forth in the fourth
WHEREAS clause at the beginning of the Agreement.

                (ae)  "Rights Agent" shall have the meaning set forth in the
first paragraph of the Agreement.

                (af)  "Rights Certificates" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 3(a) hereof.

                (ag)  "Rights Dividend Declaration Date" shall have the meaning
set forth in the fourth WHEREAS clause at the beginning of the Agreement.

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

                (ai)  "Section 11(a)(ii) Trigger Date" shall have the meaning
set forth in Section 11(a)(iii) hereof.

                (aj)  "Section 13 Event" shall mean any event described in
clauses (x), (y) or (z) of Section 13(a) hereof.

                (ak)  "Spread" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
11(a)(iii) hereof.

                (al)  "Stock Acquisition Date" shall mean the first date of
public announcement (which, for purposes of this definition, shall include,
without limitation, a report filed pursuant to Section 13(d) of the Exchange
Act) by the Company or an Acquiring Person that an Acquiring Person has become
such.

                (am)  "Subsidiary" shall mean, with reference to any Person, any
corporation or other entity of which securities or other ownership interests
having ordinary voting power sufficient, in the absence of contingencies, to
elect a majority of the board of directors or other persons performing similar
functions of such corporation or other entity are at the time directly

                                       7
<PAGE>
 
or indirectly beneficially owned, or otherwise controlled, by such Person and
any Affiliate of such Person.

                (an)  "Substitution Period" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(a)(iii) hereof.

                (ao)  "Trading Day" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
11(d)(i) hereof.

                (ap)  "Triggering Event" shall mean any Section 11(a)(ii) Event
or any Section 13 Event.

          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 Stock) 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.  Issuance of Rights Certificates.
                      ------------------------------- 

                (a)  Until the earliest of (i) the Close of Business on the
tenth Business Day (or such specified or unspecified later date as may be
determined by the Board prior to the expiration of such ten Business Day period)
after the Stock Acquisition Date (or, if the tenth Business Day after the Stock
Acquisition Date occurs before the Record Date, the Close of Business on the
Record Date), (ii) the Close of Business on the tenth Business Day (or such
specified or unspecified later date as may be determined by the Board prior to
the expiration of such ten Business Day period) after the date that a tender or
exchange offer by any Person (other than an Exempt Person) 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, if upon consummation thereof, such Person
would be the Beneficial Owner of 15% or more of the shares of Common Stock then
outstanding or (iii) immediately after the Board determines (with the
concurrence of the Outside Directors), pursuant to the criteria set forth in
Section 11(a)(ii)(D) 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

                                       8
<PAGE>
 
provisions of paragraph (b) of this Section 3) by the certificates for the
Common Stock registered in the names of the holders of the Common Stock (which
certificates for Common Stock 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 shares of Common Stock
(including a transfer to the Company).  As soon as practicable after the
Distribution Date, the Rights Agent will send by first-class, insured, postage-
prepaid mail, to each record holder of the Common Stock as of the Close of
Business on the Distribution Date, at the address of such holder shown on the
records of the Company, one or more rights certificates, substantially in the
form of Exhibit B hereto (the "Rights Certificates"), evidencing one Right for
each share of Common Stock so held, subject to adjustment as provided herein.
In the event that an adjustment in the number of Rights per share of Common
Stock has been made pursuant to Section 11(p) hereof, at the time of
distribution of the Rights Certificates, the Company shall make the necessary
and appropriate rounding adjustments (in accordance with Section 14(a) hereof)
so that Rights Certificates representing only whole numbers of Rights are
distributed and cash is paid in lieu of any fractional Rights.  As of and after
the Distribution Date, the Rights will be evidenced solely by such Rights
Certificates.

                (b)  With respect to certificates for the Common Stock
outstanding as of the Record Date, until the Distribution Date, the Rights will
be evidenced by such certificates for the Common Stock and the registered
holders of the Common Stock shall also be the registered holders of the
associated Rights. Until the earlier of the Distribution Date or the Expiration
Date, the transfer of any certificates representing shares of Common Stock in
respect of which Rights have been issued shall also constitute the transfer of
the Rights associated with such shares of Common Stock.

                (c)  Rights shall be issued in respect of all shares of Common
Stock which are issued after the Record Date but prior to the earlier of the
Distribution Date or the Expiration Date. Certificates representing such shares
of Common Stock shall also be deemed to be certificates for Rights, and shall
bear the following legend:

                                       9
<PAGE>
 
     This certificate also evidences and entitles the holder hereof to certain
     Rights as set forth in the Renewed Rights Agreement between Lukens Inc. and
     American Stock Transfer and Trust Company, dated as of September 25, 1996,
     as the same shall be amended, restated, extended or renewed from time to
     time (the "Renewed Rights Agreement"), the terms of which are incorporated
     herein by reference and a copy of which is on file at the principal offices
     of Lukens Inc.  Under certain circumstances set forth in the Renewed Rights
     Agreement, such Rights will be evidenced by separate certificates and will
     no longer be evidenced by this certificate.  Lukens Inc. will mail to the
     holder of this certificate a copy of the Renewed Rights Agreement, as in
     effect on the date of mailing, without charge, promptly after receipt of a
     written request therefor.  Under certain circumstances set forth in the
     Renewed Rights Agreement, Rights beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person,
     an Adverse Person or any Affiliate or Associate of an Acquiring Person or
     an Adverse Person (as such terms are defined in the Renewed Rights
     Agreement), whether currently held by or on behalf of such Person or by any
     subsequent holder, may become null and void.  The Rights shall not be
     exercisable, and shall be void so long as held, by a holder in any
     jurisdiction where the requisite qualification to the issuance to such
     holder, or the exercise by such holder, of the Rights in such jurisdiction
     shall not have been obtained or be obtainable.

With respect to such certificates containing the foregoing legend, until the
earlier of (i) the Distribution Date or (ii) the Expiration Date, the Rights
associated with the Common Stock represented by such certificates shall be
evidenced by such certificates alone and registered holders of Common Stock
shall also be the registered holders of the associated Rights, and the transfer
of any of such certificates shall also constitute the transfer of the Rights
associated with the Common Stock represented by such certificates.

                                       10
<PAGE>
 
          Section 4.  Form of Rights Certificates.
                      --------------------------- 

                (a)  The Rights Certificates (and the forms of election to
purchase and of assignment to be printed on the reverse thereof) shall each be
substantially in the form of Exhibit B 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 Section 11
and Section 22 hereof, the Rights Certificates, whenever distributed, shall be
dated as of the Record Date and on their face shall entitle the holders thereof
to purchase such number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock as
shall be set forth therein at the price per one one-hundredth of a share set
forth therein (such exercise price per one one-hundredth of a share, the
"Purchase Price"), but the amount and type of securities purchasable upon the
exercise of each Right and the Purchase Price thereof 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 Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person or an Adverse
Person) who becomes a transferee after the Acquiring Person or Adverse Person
becomes such or (iii) a transferee of an Acquiring Person or Adverse Person (or
of any Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person or an Adverse Person) 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 has determined is part of

                                       11
<PAGE>
 
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, modified as applicable to
apply to such Person:

     The Rights represented by this Rights 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 Renewed Rights Agreement).  Accordingly, this Rights
     Certificate and the Rights represented hereby may become null and void in
     the circumstances specified in Section 7(e) of the Renewed Rights
     Agreement.

          Section 5.  Countersignature and Registration.
                      --------------------------------- 

                (a)  The Rights Certificates shall be executed on behalf of the
Company by its Chairman of the Board, its President or any Vice President,
either manually or by facsimile signature, and shall 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 Rights 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 Rights
Certificates shall cease to be such officer of the Company before
countersignature by the Rights Agent and issuance and delivery by the Company,
such Rights 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 Rights Certificates had not ceased to be such officer
of the Company; and any Rights Certificates may be signed on behalf of the
Company by any person who, at the actual date of the execution of such Rights
Certificate, shall be a proper officer of the Company to sign such Rights
Certificate, although at the date of the execution of this Renewed Rights
Agreement any such person was not such an officer.

                                       12
<PAGE>
 
                (b)  Following the Distribution Date, the Rights Agent will keep
or cause to be kept, at its principal office or offices designated as the
appropriate place for surrender of Rights Certificates upon exercise or
transfer, books for registration and transfer of the Rights Certificates issued
hereunder. Such books shall show the names and addresses of the respective
holders of the Rights Certificates, the number of Rights evidenced on its face
by each of the Rights Certificates and the date of each of the Rights
Certificates.

          Section 6.  Transfer, Split Up, Combination and Exchange of Rights
                      ------------------------------------------------------
Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Rights Certificates.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

                (a)  Subject to the provisions of Section 4(b), Section 7(e) and
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 Expiration Date, any
Rights Certificate or Certificates may be transferred, split up, combined or
exchanged for another Rights Certificate or Certificates, entitling the
registered holder to purchase a like number of one one-hundredths of a share of
Preferred Stock (or, following a Triggering Event, Common Stock, other
securities, cash or other assets, as the case may be) as the Rights Certificate
or Certificates surrendered then entitled such holder (or former holder in the
case of a transfer) to purchase.  Any registered holder desiring to transfer,
split up, combine or exchange any Rights Certificate or Certificates shall make
such request in writing delivered to the Rights Agent, and shall surrender the
Rights Certificate or Certificates to be transferred, split up, combined or
exchanged at the principal office or offices of the Rights Agent designated for
such purpose.  Neither the Rights Agent nor the Company shall be obligated to
take any action whatsoever with respect to the transfer of any such surrendered
Rights Certificate until the registered holder shall have completed and signed
the certificate contained in the form of assignment on the reverse side of such
Rights Certificate and shall have provided such additional evidence of the
identity of the Beneficial Owner (or former Beneficial Owner) or Affiliates or
Associates thereof as the Company shall reasonably request.  Thereupon the
Rights Agent shall, subject to Section 4(b), Section 7(e) and Section 14 hereof,
countersign and deliver to the Person entitled thereto a

                                       13
<PAGE>
 
Rights Certificate or Rights 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 Rights Certificates.

                (b)  Upon receipt by the Company and the Rights Agent of
evidence reasonably satisfactory to them of the loss, theft, destruction or
mutilation of a Rights Certificate, and, in case of loss, theft or destruction,
of indemnity or security reasonably satisfactory to them, and 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 Rights
Certificate if mutilated, the Company will execute and deliver a new Rights
Certificate of like tenor to the Rights Agent for countersignature and delivery
to the registered owner in lieu of the Rights Certificate so lost, stolen,
destroyed or mutilated.

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

                (a)  Subject to Section 7(e) hereof, the registered holder of
any Rights Certificate may exercise the Rights evidenced thereby (except as
otherwise provided herein, including, without limitation, the restrictions on
exercisability set forth in Section 9(c), Section 11(a)(iii) and Section 23(a)
hereof) in whole or in part at any time after the Distribution Date upon
surrender of the Rights Certificate, with the form of election to purchase and
the certificate on the reverse side thereof duly executed, to the Rights Agent
at the principal office or offices of the Rights Agent designated for such
purpose, together with payment of the aggregate Purchase Price with respect to
the total number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock (or other
shares, securities, cash or other assets, as the case may be) as to which such
surrendered Rights are then exercisable, at or prior to the earliest of (i) the
Final Expiration Date, (ii) the time at which the Rights are redeemed as
provided in Section 23 hereof or (iii) the time at which the Rights expire
pursuant to Section 13(d) hereof (the earliest of (i), (ii) and (iii) being
herein referred to as the "Expiration Date").

                                       14
<PAGE>
 
                (b)  The Purchase Price for each one one-hundredth of a share of
Preferred Stock pursuant to the exercise of a Right shall initially be $80, and
shall be subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in Sections 11 and
13(a) hereof and shall be payable in accordance with paragraph (c) below.

                (c)  Upon receipt of a Rights Certificate representing
exercisable Rights, with the form of election to purchase and the certificate
duly executed, accompanied by payment, with respect to each Right so exercised,
of the Purchase Price per one one-hundredth of a share of Preferred Stock (or
other shares, securities, cash or other assets, as the case may be) to be
purchased as set forth below and an amount equal to any applicable transfer tax,
the Rights Agent shall, subject to Section 20(k) hereof, thereupon promptly (i)
(A) requisition from any transfer agent of the shares of Preferred Stock (or
make available, if the Rights Agent is the transfer agent for such shares)
certificates for the total number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred
Stock to be purchased (and the Company hereby irrevocably authorizes its
transfer agent to comply with all such requests), or (B) if the Company shall
have elected to deposit the total number of shares of Preferred Stock issuable
upon exercise of the Rights hereunder with a depositary agent, requisition from
the depositary agent depositary receipts representing such number of one one-
hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock as are to be purchased (in which case
certificates for the shares of Preferred Stock represented by such receipts
shall be deposited by the transfer agent with the depositary agent) and the
Company will direct the depositary agent to comply with such request, (ii)
requisition from the Company the amount of cash, if any, to be paid in lieu of
fractional shares in accordance with Section 14 hereof, (iii) after receipt of
such certificates or depositary receipts, cause the same to be delivered to or
upon the order of the registered holder of such Rights Certificate, registered
in such name or names as may be designated by such holder, and (iv) after
receipt thereof, deliver such cash, if any, to or upon the order of the
registered holder of such Rights Certificate. The payment of the Purchase Price
(as such amount may be reduced pursuant to Section 11(a)(iii) hereof) shall be
made in cash or by certified bank check or bank draft payable to the order of
the Company. In the event that the Company is obligated to issue other
securities

                                       15
<PAGE>
 
(including Common Stock) of the Company, pay cash and/or distribute other
property pursuant to Section 11(a) hereof, the Company will make all
arrangements necessary so that such other securities, cash and/or other property
are available for distribution by the Rights Agent, if and when appropriate.
The Company reserves the right to require, prior to the occurrence of a
Triggering Event that, upon exercise of Rights, such number of Rights be
exercised so that only whole shares of Preferred Stock will be issued.

                (d)  In case the registered holder of any Rights Certificate
shall exercise less than all the Rights evidenced thereby, a new Rights
Certificate evidencing Rights equivalent to the Rights remaining unexercised
shall be issued by the Rights Agent and delivered to, or upon the order of, the
registered holder of such Rights Certificate, registered in such name or names
as may be designated by such holder, 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, which the Board, in
its sole discretion, determines is or was involved in or caused or facilitated,
directly or indirectly (including through any change in the Board), such Section
11(a)(ii) Event, (ii) a transferee of such Acquiring Person or Adverse Person
(or of any Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person or an Adverse Person)
who becomes a transferee after such Acquiring Person or Adverse Person becomes
such or (iii) a transferee of such Acquiring Person or Adverse Person (or of any
Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person or an Adverse Person) who becomes
a transferee prior to or concurrently with such Acquiring Person or Adverse
Person becoming such and receives such Rights pursuant to either (A) a transfer
(whether or not for consideration) from such 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 has determined is part of a plan, arrangement or
understand-

                                       16
<PAGE>
 
ing 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 ensure 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 its
Affiliates, Associates or transferees hereunder.

                (f)  Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary,
neither the Rights Agent nor the Company shall be obligated to undertake any
action with respect to a registered holder upon the occurrence of any purported
exercise as set forth in this Section 7 unless such registered holder shall have
(i) completed and signed the certificate contained in the form of election to
purchase set forth on the reverse side of the Rights Certificate surrendered for
such exercise and (ii) provided such additional evidence of the identity of the
Beneficial Owner (or former Beneficial Owner) or Affiliates or Associates
thereof as the Company shall reasonably request.

          Section 8.  Cancellation and Destruction of Rights Certificates.  All
                      ---------------------------------------------------      
Rights Certificates surrendered for the purpose of exercise, transfer, split up,
combination or exchange shall, if surrendered to the Company or 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 Rights
Certificates shall be issued in lieu thereof except as expressly permitted by
any of the provisions of this Agreement.  The Company shall deliver to the
Rights Agent for cancellation and retirement, and the Rights Agent shall so
cancel and retire, any other Rights Certificate purchased or acquired by the
Company otherwise than upon the exercise thereof.  The Rights Agent shall
deliver all cancelled Rights Certificates to the Company, or shall, at the
written request of the Company, destroy such cancelled Rights Certificates, and
in such case shall deliver a certificate of destruction thereof to the Company.

                                       17
<PAGE>
 
          Section 9.  Reservation and Availability of Capital Stock.
                      --------------------------------------------- 

                (a)  The Company covenants and agrees that it will cause to be
reserved and kept available out of its authorized and unissued shares of
Preferred Stock (and, following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, out of its
authorized and unissued shares of Common Stock and/or other securities or out of
its authorized and issued shares held in its treasury), the number of shares of
Preferred Stock (and, following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, Common
Stock of the Company, other shares, securities, cash or other assets) that, as
provided in this Agreement (including, without limitation, Section 11(a)(iii)
hereof), will be sufficient to permit the exercise in full of all outstanding
Rights.

                (b)  So long as the shares of Preferred Stock (and, following
the occurrence of a Triggering Event, Common Stock, other shares, securities,
cash or other assets) issuable and deliverable upon the exercise of the 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.

                (c)  The Company shall use its best efforts to (i) file, as soon
as practicable following the earliest date after the first occurrence of a
Section 11(a)(ii) Event on which the consideration to be delivered by the
Company upon exercise of the Rights has been determined in accordance with
Section 11(a)(iii) hereof, or as soon as is required by law following the
Distribution Date, as the case may be, a registration statement under the Act,
with respect to the securities purchasable upon exercise of the Rights on an
appropriate form, (ii) cause such registration statement to become effective as
soon as practicable after such filing, and (iii) cause such registration
statement to remain effective (with a prospectus at all times meeting the
requirements of the Act) until the earlier of (A) the date as of which the
Rights are no longer exercisable for such securities, and (B) the Expiration
Date. The Company will also take such action as may be appropriate under, or to
ensure compliance with, the securities or "blue sky" laws of the

                                       18
<PAGE>
 
various states in connection with the exercisability of the Rights.  The Company
may temporarily suspend, for a period of time not to exceed ninety (90) days
after the date set forth in clause (i) of the first sentence of this Section
9(c), the exercisability of the Rights in order to prepare and file such
registration statement and permit it to become effective.  Upon any such
suspension, the Company shall issue a public announcement stating that the
exercisability of the Rights has been temporarily suspended, as well as a public
announcement at such time as the suspension is no longer in effect.  In
addition, if the Company shall determine that a registration statement is
required in other circumstances following the Distribution Date, the Company may
similarly temporarily suspend the exercisability of the Rights until such time
as a registration statement has been declared effective.  Notwithstanding any
provision of this Agreement to the contrary, the Rights shall not be exercisable
in any jurisdiction unless the requisite qualification in such jurisdiction
shall have been obtained.

                (d)  The Company covenants and agrees that it will take all such
action as may be necessary to ensure that all one one-hundredths of a share of
Preferred Stock (and, following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, Common
Stock or other securities) 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.

                (e)  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 Rights
Certificates and of any certificates for a number of one one-hundredths of a
share of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities, as the case
may be) 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 Rights Certificates to a Person other than, or the issuance or
delivery of a number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock (or
Common Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be) in respect of a name
other than that of, the registered holder of the Rights Certificates evidencing
Rights surrendered for exercise or to issue or

                                       19
<PAGE>
 
deliver any certificates for a number of one one-hundredths of a share of
Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be) in
a name other than that of the registered holder upon the exercise of any Rights
until such tax shall have been paid (any such tax being payable by the holder of
such Rights 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.  Preferred Stock Record Date.  Each person in whose name
                       ---------------------------                            
any certificate for a number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock
(or Common Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be) is issued upon the
exercise of Rights shall for all purposes be deemed to have become the holder of
record of such fractional shares of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or
other securities, as the case may be) represented thereby on, and such
certificate shall be dated, the date upon which the Rights Certificate
evidencing such Rights was duly surrendered and payment of the Purchase Price
(and all applicable transfer taxes) was made; provided, however, that if the
                                              --------  -------             
date of such surrender and payment is a date upon which the Preferred Stock (or
Common Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be) transfer books of the
Company are closed, such Person shall be deemed to have become the record holder
of such shares (fractional or otherwise) on, and such certificate shall be
dated, the next succeeding Business Day on which the Preferred Stock (or Common
Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be) transfer books of the Company
are open.  Prior to the exercise of the Rights evidenced thereby, the holder of
a Rights 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 and Kind of Shares
                       -------------------------------------------------------
or Number of Rights.  The Purchase Price, the number and kind 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.

                                       20
<PAGE>
 
                (a)(i)  In the event the Company shall at any time after the
     date of this Agreement (A) declare a dividend on the Preferred Stock
     payable in shares of Preferred Stock, (B) subdivide the outstanding
     Preferred Stock, (C) combine the outstanding Preferred Stock into a smaller
     number of shares or (D) issue any shares of its capital stock in a
     reclassification of the Preferred Stock (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) and Section 7(e) hereof, 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 Preferred Stock or capital stock, as the
     case may be, issuable on such date, shall be proportionately adjusted so
     that the holder of any Right exercised after such time shall be entitled to
     receive, upon payment of the Purchase Price then in effect, the aggregate
     number and kind of shares of Preferred Stock or capital stock, as the case
     may be, which, if such Right had been exercised immediately prior to such
     date and at a time when the Preferred Stock 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 this Section 11(a)(i) and Section 11(a)(ii) hereof, 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) hereof.

                       (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, shall merge into the Company or otherwise combine
     with the Company and the Company shall be the continuing or sur-

                                       21
<PAGE>
 
     viving corporation of such merger or combination and the Common Stock of
     the Company shall remain outstanding and unchanged,

                        (B)  any Person (other than an Exempt Person), alone or
     together with its Affiliates and Associates, shall, at any time after the
     Rights Dividend Declaration Date, become the Beneficial Owner of 15% or
     more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding, unless the event
     causing the 15% threshold to be crossed is a transaction set forth in
     Section 13(a) hereof, or is an acquisition of shares of Common Stock
     pursuant to a tender offer or an exchange offer for all outstanding shares
     of Common Stock at a price and on terms determined by at least a majority
     of the members of the Board who are not officers of the Company and who are
     not representatives, nominees, Affiliates or Associates of an Acquiring
     Person or an Adverse Person (the "Outside Directors"), after receiving
     advice from one or more investment banking firms, to be (1) at a price that
     is fair to stockholders (taking into account all factors which such members
     of the Board deem relevant, including, without limitation, prices which
     could reasonably be achieved if the Company or its assets were sold on an
     orderly basis designed to realize maximum value) and (2) otherwise in the
     best interests of the Company and its stockholders,

                        (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
     transaction or series of transactions involving the Company or any of its
     Subsidiaries, other than a transaction or transactions to which the
     provisions of Section 13(a) apply (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 secu-

                                       22
<PAGE>
 
     rities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries which is directly or
     indirectly beneficially owned by any Acquiring Person or any Associate or
     Affiliate of any Acquiring Person, or

                        (D)  The Board (with the concurrence of a majority of
     the Outside Directors) shall declare any Person to be an Adverse Person,
     upon a determination that such person, alone or together with its
     Affiliates and Associates, has, at any time after the Rights Dividend
     Declaration Date, become the Beneficial Owner of an amount of Common Stock
     which the Board (with the concurrence of a majority of the Outside
     Directors) determines to be substantial (which amount shall in no event be
     less than 10% of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding) and a
     determination by at least a majority of the Board (with the concurrence of
     a majority of the Outside Directors) after reasonable inquiry and
     investigation, which may include a review of the public record regarding
     such Person and any information such directors may request from such Person
     and consultation with such Persons as such directors shall deem
     appropriate, that (1) such Beneficial Ownership by such Person is intended
     to cause the Company to repurchase the Common Stock 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 such
     directors determine that the best long-term interests of the Company and
     its stockholders would not be served by taking such action or entering into
     such transaction or series of transactions at that time or (2) such
     Beneficial Ownership is causing or reasonably likely to cause a material
     adverse impact (including, without limitation, impairment, of the Company's
     relationships with its customers, its ability to maintain its competitive
     position, its business reputation or its ability to deal with governmental
     agencies) on the business or prospects of the Company,

                                       23
<PAGE>
 
     then, promptly after the occurrence of such event, proper provision shall
     be made so that each holder of a Right (except as provided below and in
     Section 7(e) hereof) shall thereafter have the right to receive, upon
     exercise thereof at the then current Purchase Price in accordance with the
     terms of this Agreement, in lieu of a number of one one-hundredths of a
     share of Preferred Stock, such number of shares of Common Stock of the
     Company as shall equal the result obtained by (x) multiplying the then
     current Purchase Price by the then number of one one-hundredths of a share
     of Preferred Stock for which a Right was exercisable immediately prior to
     the first occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event, and (y) dividing that
     product (which, following such first occurrence, shall thereafter be
     referred to as the "Purchase Price" for each Right and for all purposes of
     this Agreement) by 50% of the Current Market Price (determined pursuant to
     Section 11(d) hereof) per share of Common Stock on the date of such first
     occurrence (such number of shares being referred to as the "Adjustment
     Shares").

                        (iii)  In lieu of issuing shares of Common Stock in
     accordance with Section 11(a)(ii) hereof, the Company, acting by resolution
     of the Board, may and, in the event that the number of shares of Common
     Stock which are authorized by the Company's Restated Certificate of
     Incorporation, as amended from time to time, but not outstanding or
     reserved for issuance for purposes other than upon exercise of the Rights
     are not sufficient to permit the exercise in full of the Rights in
     accordance with the foregoing subparagraph (ii) of this Section 11(a), the
     Company, acting by resolution of the Board, shall: (A) determine the excess
     of (1) the value of the Adjustment Shares issuable upon the exercise of a
     Right (the "Current Value") over (2) the Purchase Price (such excess being
     referred to as the "Spread"), and (B) with respect to each Right, make
     adequate provision to substitute for the Adjustment Shares, upon payment of
     the applicable Purchase Price, (1) cash, (2) a reduction in the Purchase
     Price, (3) Common Stock or other equity secu-

                                       24
<PAGE>
 
     rities of the Company (including, without limitation, shares, or units of
     shares, of preferred stock which the Board has deemed to have the same
     value as shares of Common Stock (such shares of preferred stock being
     referred to as "Common Stock Equivalents")), (4) debt securities of the
     Company, (5) other assets, or (6) any combination of the foregoing, having
     an aggregate value equal to the Current Value, where such aggregate value
     has been determined by the Board based upon the advice of a nationally
     recognized investment banking firm selected by the Board; provided,
                                                               -------- 
     however, if the Company shall not have made adequate provision to deliver
     -------                                                                  
     value pursuant to clause (B) above within thirty (30) days following the
     later of (x) the first occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event and (y) the
     date on which the Company's right of redemption pursuant to Section 23(a)
     expires (the later of (x) and (y) being referred to herein as the "Section
     11(a)(ii) Trigger Date"), then the Company shall be obligated to deliver,
     upon the surrender for exercise of a Right and without requiring payment of
     the Purchase Price, shares of Common Stock (to the extent available) and
     then, if necessary, cash, which shares and/or cash have an aggregate value
     equal to the Spread.  If the Board shall determine in good faith that it is
     likely that sufficient additional shares of Common Stock could be
     authorized for issuance upon exercise in full of the Rights, the thirty
     (30) day period set forth above may be extended to the extent necessary,
     but not more than ninety (90) days after the Section 11(a)(ii) Trigger
     Date, in order that the Company may seek stockholder approval for the
     authorization of such additional shares (such period, as it may be
     extended, being referred to herein as the "Substitution Period").  To the
     extent that the Company determines that some action need be taken pursuant
     to the first and/or second sentences of this Section 11(a)(iii), the
     Company (x) shall provide, subject to Section 7(e) hereof, that such action
     shall apply uniformly to all outstanding Rights, and (y) may suspend the
     exercisability of the Rights until the expiration of the Substitution
     Period in order to seek any authorization of additional shares and/or to
     decide the appropriate form of distribution to be made pursuant to such
     first sentence and to deter-

                                       25
<PAGE>
 
     mine the value thereof. In the event of any such suspension, the Company
     shall issue a public announcement stating that the exercisability of the
     Rights has been temporarily suspended, as well as a public announcement at
     such time as the suspension is no longer in effect.  For purposes of this
     Section 11(a)(iii), the value of the Common Stock shall be the Current
     Market Price (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) per share of
     the Common Stock on the Section 11(a)(ii) Trigger Date and the value of any
     Common Stock Equivalent shall be deemed to have the same value as the
     Common Stock on such date.

                (b)  In case the Company shall fix a record date for the
issuance of rights, options or warrants to all holders of Preferred Stock
entitling them to subscribe for or purchase (for a period expiring within forty-
five (45) calendar days after such record date) Preferred Stock (or shares
having the same rights, privileges and preferences as the shares of Preferred
Stock ("Equivalent Preferred Stock")) or securities convertible into Preferred
Stock or Equivalent Preferred Stock at a price per share of Preferred Stock or
per share of Equivalent Preferred Stock (or having a conversion price per share,
if a security convertible into Preferred Stock or Equivalent Preferred Stock)
less than the Current Market Price (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d)
hereof) per share of Preferred Stock 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 shares of Preferred Stock
outstanding on such record date, plus the number of shares of Preferred Stock
which the aggregate offering price of the total number of shares of Preferred
Stock and/or Equivalent Preferred Stock 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 shares of Preferred Stock outstanding on such record date, plus the
number of additional shares of Preferred Stock and/or Equivalent Preferred Stock
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 by delivery of consider-

                                       26
<PAGE>
 
ation part or all of which may be in a form other than cash, the value of such
consideration shall be as determined in good faith by the Board, whose
determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent and
shall be binding on the Rights Agent and the holders of the Rights.  Shares of
Preferred Stock 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 a
distribution to all holders of Preferred Stock (including any such distribution
made in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the Company is the
continuing corporation) of evidences of indebtedness, cash (other than a regular
quarterly cash dividend out of the earnings or retained earnings of the
Company), assets (other than a dividend payable in Preferred Stock, but
including any dividend payable in stock other than Preferred Stock) or
subscription rights or warrants (excluding those referred to in Section 11(b)
hereof), 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 Market
Price (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) per share of Preferred
Stock on such record date, less the fair market value (as determined in good
faith by the Board, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed
with the Rights Agent) of the portion of the cash, assets or evidences of
indebtedness so to be distributed or of such subscription rights or warrants
applicable to a share of Preferred Stock and the denominator of which shall be
such Current Market Price (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) per
share of Preferred Stock. 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 be adjusted to be the Purchase Price which would
have been in effect if such record date had not been fixed.

                                       27
<PAGE>
 
                (d)(i)  For the purpose of any computation hereunder, other than
     computations made pursuant to Section 11(a)(iii) hereof, the Current Market
     Price per share of Common Stock on any date shall be deemed to be the
     average of the daily closing prices per share of such Common Stock for the
     thirty (30) consecutive Trading Days (as such term is hereinafter defined)
     immediately prior to such date, and for purposes of computations made
     pursuant to Section 11(a)(iii) hereof, the Current Market Price per share
     of Common Stock on any date shall be deemed to be the average of the daily
     closing prices per share of such Common Stock for the ten (10) consecutive
     Trading Days immediately following such date; provided, however, that in
                                                   --------  -------         
     the event that the Current Market Price per share of the Common Stock is
     determined during a period following the announcement by the issuer of such
     Common Stock of (A) a dividend or distribution on such Common Stock payable
     in shares of such Common Stock or securities convertible into shares of
     such Common Stock (other than the Rights), or (B) any subdivision,
     combination or reclassification of such Common Stock, and prior to the
     expiration of the requisite thirty (30) Trading Day or ten (10) Trading Day
     period, as set forth above, 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 properly adjusted to take into account ex-dividend trading.  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 shares of Common Stock 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 shares of Common Stock
     are listed or admitted to trading or, if the shares of Common Stock 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

                                       28
<PAGE>
 
     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
     shares of Common Stock 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 Stock selected by the Board.  If on any
     such date no market maker is making a market in the Common Stock, the fair
     value of such shares on such date as determined in good faith by the Board
     shall be used.  The term "Trading Day" shall mean a day on which the
     principal national securities exchange on which the shares of Common Stock
     are listed or admitted to trading is open for the transaction of business
     or, if the shares of Common Stock are not listed or admitted to trading on
     any national securities exchange, a Business Day.  If the Common Stock is
     not publicly held or not so listed or traded, Current Market Price per
     share shall mean the fair value per share as determined in good faith by
     the Board, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with
     the Rights Agent and shall be conclusive for all purposes.

                (ii)  For the purpose of any computation hereunder, the Current
     Market Price per share of Preferred Stock shall be determined in the same
     manner as set forth above for the Common Stock in clause (i) of this
     Section 11(d) (other than the last sentence thereof).  If the Current
     Market Price per share of Preferred Stock cannot be determined in the
     manner provided above or if the Preferred Stock is not publicly held or
     listed or traded in a manner described in clause (i) of this Section 11(d),
     the Current Market Price per share of Preferred Stock shall be conclusively
     deemed to be an amount equal to 100 (as such number may be appropriately
     adjusted for such events as stock splits, stock dividends and
     recapitalizations with respect to the Common Stock occurring after the date
     of this Agreement) multiplied by the Current Market Price per share of the
     Common Stock.  If neither the Common Stock nor the Preferred Stock is
     publicly held or so listed or traded, Current Market Price per share of the
     Preferred Stock shall mean the fair value per share as

                                       29
<PAGE>
 
     determined in good faith by the Board, whose determination shall be
     described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent and shall be
     conclusive for all purposes.  For all purposes of this Agreement, the
     Current Market Price of one one-hundredth of a share of Preferred Stock
     shall be equal to the Current Market Price of one share of Preferred Stock
     divided by 100.

                (e)  Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, no
adjustment in the Purchase Price shall be required unless such adjustment would
require an increase or decrease of at least one percent (1%) in the Purchase
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 ten-thousandth of a share of
Common Stock or other share or one-millionth of a share of Preferred Stock, as
the case may be. Notwithstanding the first sentence of this Section 11(e), any
adjustment required by this Section 11 shall be made no later than the earlier
of (i) three (3) years from the date of the transaction which mandates such
adjustment or (ii) the Expiration Date.

                (f)  If as a result of an adjustment made pursuant to Section
11(a)(ii) or Section 13(a) hereof, the holder of any Right thereafter exercised
shall become entitled to receive any shares of capital stock other than
Preferred Stock, thereafter the number of such other shares so receivable upon
exercise of any Right and the Purchase Price thereof 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 Preferred Stock contained in
Sections 11(a), (b), (c), (e), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k) and (m), and the
provisions of Sections 7, 9, 10, 13 and 14 hereof with respect to the Preferred
Stock 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 one onehundredths of a
share of Preferred Stock purchasable from

                                       30
<PAGE>
 
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 Sections 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
one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock (calculated to the nearest one-
millionth) obtained by (i) multiplying (x) the number of one one-hundredths of a
share 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 lieu of any
adjustment in the number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock
purchasable upon the exercise of a Right. Each of the Rights outstanding after
the adjustment in the number of Rights shall be exercisable for the number of
one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock 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 one-ten-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 Rights Certificates have been issued, shall be at least ten (10) days
later than the date of the public announcement. If Rights 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 Rights Certificates on such record

                                       31
<PAGE>
 
date Rights Certificates evidencing, subject to Section 14 hereof, the
additional 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 Rights
Certificates held by such holders prior to the date of adjustment, and upon
surrender thereof, if required by the Company, new Rights Certificates
evidencing all the Rights to which such holders shall be entitled after such
adjustment.  Rights 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 Rights 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 one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock issuable
upon the exercise of the Rights, the Rights Certificates theretofore and
thereafter issued may continue to express the Purchase Price per one one-
hundredth of a share and the number of one one-hundredths of a share which were
expressed in the initial Rights Certificates issued hereunder.

                (k)  Before taking any action that would cause an adjustment
reducing the Purchase Price below the then stated value, if any, of the number
of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock 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 such number of one one-hundredths of
a share of Preferred Stock 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 issuance to the holder of any Right exercised after such record date
the number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock and other capital
stock or securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such exercise over and
above the number of one one-hun-

                                       32
<PAGE>
 
dredths of a share of Preferred Stock 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 (fractional or
otherwise) or securities 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 in its good faith judgment the Board shall
determine to be advisable in order that any (i) consolidation or subdivision of
the Preferred Stock, (ii) issuance wholly for cash of any shares of Preferred
Stock at less than the Current Market Price, (iii) issuance wholly for cash of
shares of Preferred Stock or securities which by their terms are convertible
into or exchangeable for shares of Preferred Stock, (iv) stock dividends or (v)
issuance of rights, options or warrants referred to in this Section 11,
hereafter made by the Company to holders of its Preferred Stock shall not be
taxable to such stockholders.

                (n)  The Company covenants and agrees that it shall not, at any
time after the Distribution Date, (i) consolidate with any other Person (other
than a Subsidiary of the Company in a transaction which complies with Section
11(o) hereof), (ii) merge with or into any other Person (other than a Subsidiary
of the Company in a transaction which complies with Section 11(o) hereof), or
(iii) sell or transfer (or permit any Subsidiary to sell or transfer), in one
transaction, or a series of related transactions, assets, cash flow or earning
power aggregating more than 50% of the assets, cash flow or earning power of the
Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any other Person or Persons
(other than the Company and/or any of its Subsidiaries in one or more
transactions each of which complies with Section 11(o) hereof), if (x) 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

                                       33
<PAGE>
 
afforded by the Rights or (y) prior to, simultaneously with or immediately after
such consolidation, merger or sale, the stockholders of the Person who
constitutes, or would constitute, the "Principal Party" for purposes of Section
13(a) hereof shall have received a distribution of Rights previously owned by
such Person or any of its Affiliates and Associates.

                (o)  The Company covenants and agrees that, after the
Distribution Date, it will not, except as permitted by Section 23 or Section 26
hereof, take (or permit any Subsidiary 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)  Anything in this Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding,
in the event that the Company shall at any time after the Rights Dividend
Declaration Date and prior to the Distribution Date (i) declare a dividend on
the outstanding shares of Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (ii)
subdivide the out-standing shares of Common Stock, or (iii) combine the
outstanding shares of Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, the number
of Rights associated with each share of Common Stock then outstanding, or issued
or delivered thereafter but prior to the Distribution Date, shall be
proportionately adjusted so that the number of Rights thereafter associated with
each share of Common Stock following any such event shall equal the result
obtained by multiplying the number of Rights associated with each share of
Common Stock immediately prior to such event by a fraction the numerator of
which shall be the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding
immediately prior to the occurrence of the event and the denominator of which
shall be the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately
following the occurrence of such event.

                (q)  The failure by the Board (with the concurrence of a
majority of the Outside Directors) to declare a Person to be an Adverse Person
following such Person becoming the Beneficial Owner of 10% or more of the
outstanding Common Stock shall not imply that such Person is not an Adverse
Person or limit the right of the Board (with the concurrence of a majority of
the Outside

                                       34
<PAGE>
 
Directors) 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 Section 11 and Section 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
Preferred Stock and the Common Stock, a copy of such certificate, and (c) mail a
brief summary thereof to each holder of a Rights Certificate (or, if prior to
the Distribution Date, to each holder of a certificate representing shares of
Common Stock) in accordance with Section 25 hereof.  The Rights Agent shall be
fully protected in relying on any such certificate and on any adjustment therein
contained.

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

                (a)  In the event that, following the Stock Acquisition Date,
directly or indirectly, (x) the Company shall consolidate with, or merge with
and into, any other Person (other than a Subsidiary of the Company in a
transaction which complies with Section 11(o) here-of), and the Company shall
not be the continuing or surviving corporation of such consolidation or merger,
(y) any Person (other than a Subsidiary of the Company in a transaction which
complies with Section 11(o) hereof) shall consolidate with, or merge with or
into, the Company, and the Company shall be the continuing or surviving
corporation of such consolidation or merger and, in connection with such
consolidation or merger, all or part of the outstanding shares of Common Stock
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 transaction or a series of related transactions, assets, cash flow or
earning power aggregating more than 50% of the assets, cash flow or earning
power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any Person or
Persons (other than the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company in one or more
transactions each of which complies with Section 11(o) hereof), then,

                                       35
<PAGE>
 
and in each such case (except as may be contemplated by Section 13(d) hereof),
proper provision shall be made so that: (i) each holder of a Right, except as
provided in Section 7(e) hereof, 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 validly authorized and issued, fully
paid, nonassessable and freely tradeable shares of Common Stock of the Principal
Party (as such term is hereinafter defined), not subject to any liens,
encumbrances, rights of first refusal or other adverse claims, as shall be equal
to the result obtained by (1) multiplying the then current Purchase Price by the
number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock for which a Right is
exercisable immediately prior to the first occurrence of a Section 13 Event (or,
if a Section 11(a)(ii) Event has occurred prior to the first occurrence of a
Section 13 Event, multiplying the number of such one one-hundredths of a share
for which a Right was exercisable immediately prior to the first occurrence of a
Section 11(a)(ii) Event by the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to
such first occurrence) and (2) dividing that product (which, following the first
occurrence of a Section 13 Event, shall be referred to as the "Purchase Price"
for each Right and for all purposes of this Agreement) by 50% of the Current
Market Price (determined pursuant to Section 11(d)(i) hereof) per share of the
Common Stock of such Principal Party on the date of con-summation of such
Section 13 Event; (ii) such Principal Party shall thereafter be liable for, and
shall assume, by virtue of such Section 13 Event, all the obligations and duties
of the Company pursuant to this Agreement; (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 only to such
Principal Party following the first occurrence of a Section 13 Event; (iv) such
Principal Party shall take such steps (including, without limitation, the
reservation of a sufficient number of shares of its Common Stock) in connection
with the consummation of any such transaction as may be necessary to assure that
the provisions hereof shall thereafter be applicable, as nearly as reasonably
may be, in relation to its shares of Common Stock thereafter deliverable upon
the exercise of the Rights; and (v) the provisions of Section 11(a)(ii) hereof
shall be of no effect following the first occurrence of any Section 13 Event.

                                       36
<PAGE>
 
                (b)  "Principal Party" shall mean

                     (i)  in the case of any transaction described in clause
     (x) or (y) of the first sentence of Section 13(a), the Person that is the
     issuer of any securities into which shares of Common Stock of the Company
     are converted in such merger or consolidation, and if no securities are so
     issued, the Person that is the other party to such merger or consolidation;
     and

                     (ii)  in the case of any transaction described in clause
     (z) of the first sentence of Section 13(a), the Person that is the party
     receiving the greatest portion of the assets or earning power transferred
     pursuant to such transaction or transactions;

provided, however, that in any such case, (1) if the Common Stock of such Person
--------  -------                                                               
is not at such time and has not been continuously over the preceding 12-month
period registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act, and such Person is a
direct or indirect Subsidiary of another Person the Common Stock of which is and
has been so registered, "Principal Party" shall refer to such other Person; and
(2) in case such Person is a Subsidiary, directly or indirectly, of more than
one Person, the Common Stocks of two or more of which are and have been so
registered, "Principal Party" shall refer to whichever of such Persons is the
issuer of the Common Stock having the greatest aggregate market value.

                (c)  The Company shall not consummate any such consolidation,
merger, sale or transfer unless the Principal Party shall have a sufficient
number of authorized shares of its Common Stock which have not been issued or
reserved for issuance to permit the exercise in full of the Rights in accordance
with this Section 13 and unless prior thereto the Company and such Principal
Party shall have executed and delivered to the Rights Agent a supplemental
agreement providing for the 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;

                                       37
<PAGE>
 
                     (i)  prepare and file a registration statement under the
     Act, with respect to the Rights and the securities purchasable upon
     exercise of the Rights on an appropriate form, and will use its best
     efforts to cause such registration statement to (A) become effective as
     soon as practicable after such filing and (B) remain effective (with a
     prospectus at all times meeting the requirements of the Act) until the
     Expiration Date; and

                     (ii)  will deliver to holders of the Rights historical
     financial statements for the Principal Party and each of its Affiliates
     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 a Section 13
Event shall occur at any time after the occurrence of a Section
11(a)(ii) Event, 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,
this Section 13 shall not be applicable to a transaction described in
subparagraphs (x) and (y) of Section 13(a) hereof if (i) such transaction is
consummated with a Person or Persons who acquired shares of Common Stock
pursuant to a tender offer or an exchange offer for all outstanding shares of
Common Stock which complies with the provisions of Section 11(a)(ii)(B) hereof
(or a wholly owned Subsidiary of such Person or Persons), (ii) the price per
share of Common Stock offered in such transaction is not less than the price per
share of Common Stock paid to all holders of shares of Common Stock whose shares
were purchased pursuant to such offer and (iii) the form of consideration being
offered to the remaining holders of shares of Common Stock pursuant to such
transaction is the same as the form of consideration paid pursuant to such
offer. Upon consummation of any such transaction contemplated by this Section
13(d), all Rights hereunder shall expire.

                                       38
<PAGE>
 
          Section 14.  Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares.
                       --------------------------------------- 

                (a)  The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of
Rights, except prior to the Distribution Date as provided in Section 11(p)
hereof, or to distribute Rights Certificates which evidence fractional Rights.
In lieu of such fractional Rights, there shall be paid to the registered holders
of the Rights 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 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 of the Rights 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. 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 shall be used.

                (b)  The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of
shares of Preferred Stock (other than fractions which are integral multiples of
one one-hundredth of a share of Preferred Stock) upon exercise of the Rights or
to distribute certificates which evidence

                                       39
<PAGE>
 
fractional shares of Preferred Stock (other than fractions which are integral
multiples of one one-hundredth of a share of Preferred Stock).  In lieu of
fractional shares of Preferred Stock that are not integral multiples of one one-
hundredth of a share of Preferred Stock, the Company may pay to the registered
holders of Rights 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 one-hundredth of a share of Preferred Stock.  For purposes of this
Section 14(b), the current market value of one one-hundredth of a share of
Preferred Stock shall be one one-hundredth of the closing price of a share of
Preferred Stock (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d)(ii) hereof) for the
Trading Day immediately prior to the date of such exercise.

                (c)  Following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, the Company
shall not be required to issue fractions of shares of Common Stock upon exercise
of the Rights or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional shares of
Common Stock. In lieu of fractional shares of Common Stock, the Company may pay
to the registered holders of Rights 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 (1) share of Common Stock. For purposes of this
Section 14(c), the current market value of one share of Common Stock shall be
the closing price of one share of Common Stock (as determined pursuant to
Section 11(d)(i) hereof) for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of
such exercise.

                (d)  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, except as permitted by this Section 14.

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

                                       40
<PAGE>
 
icate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, of the Common Stock), may, in his 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 Rights
Certificate in the manner provided in such Rights 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
shall be entitled to specific performance of the obligations hereunder and
injunctive relief against actual or threatened violations of the obligations
hereunder of any Person subject to this Agreement.

          Section 16.  Agreement of Rights 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 Common Stock;

                (b)  after the Distribution Date, the Rights Certificates are
transferable only on the registry books of the Rights Agent if surrendered at
the principal office or offices of the Rights Agent designated for such
purposes, duly endorsed or accompanied by a proper instrument of transfer and
with the appropriate forms and certificates fully executed;

                (c)  subject to Section 6(a) and Section 7(f) hereof, the
Company and the Rights Agent may deem and treat the person in whose name a
Rights Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, the associated Common
Stock certificate) is registered as the absolute owner thereof and of the Rights
evidenced thereby (notwithstanding any notations of ownership or writing on the
Rights Certificates or the associated Common Stock certificate made by anyone
other than the Company or the Rights Agent) for all purposes whatsoever, and
neither the Company nor the Rights Agent, subject to the last sentence of
Section 7(e) hereof, shall be required to be affected by any notice to the
contrary; and

                                       41
<PAGE>
 
                (d)  notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary,
neither the Company nor the Rights Agent shall have any liability to any holder
of a Right or other Person as a result of its inability to perform any of its
obligations under this Agreement by reason of any preliminary or permanent
injunction or other order, decree or ruling issued by a court of competent
jurisdiction or by a governmental, regulatory or administrative agency or
commission, or any statute, rule, regulation or executive order promulgated or
enacted by any governmental authority, prohibiting or otherwise restraining
performance of such obligation; provided, however, the Company must use its best
                                --------  -------                               
efforts to have any such order, decree or ruling lifted or otherwise overturned
as soon as possible.

          Section 17.  Rights Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder.  No
                       --------------------------------------------------     
holder, as such, of any Rights Certificate shall be entitled to vote, receive
dividends or be deemed for any purpose the holder of the number of one one-
hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock or any other securities of the Company
which may at any time be issuable on the exercise of the Rights represented
there-by, nor shall anything contained herein or in any Rights Certificate be
construed to confer upon the holder of any Rights 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 Rights Certificate shall
have been exercised in accordance with the provisions hereof.

          Section 18.  Concerning the Rights Agent.
                       --------------------------- 

                (a)  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
disbursements and other disbursements incurred in the administration and
execution of this Agreement and the exercise and performance of its duties
hereunder.  The Company also agrees to indemnify the

                                       42
<PAGE>
 
Rights Agent for, and to hold it harmless against, any loss, liability, or
expense, incurred without 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.

                (b)  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 Rights
Certificate or certificate for Common Stock 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.

                (a)  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 corporate trust or stock transfer 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, however, 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 Rights
Certificates shall have been countersigned but not delivered, any such successor
Rights Agent may adopt the countersignature of a predecessor Rights Agent and
deliver such Rights Certificates so countersigned; and in case at that time any
of the Rights Certificates shall not have been countersigned, any successor
Rights Agent may countersign such Rights Certificates either in the name of the
predecessor or in the name of

                                       43
<PAGE>
 
the successor Rights Agent; and in all such cases such Rights Certificates shall
have the full force provided in the Rights Certificates and in this Agreement.

                (b)  In case at any time the name of the Rights Agent shall be
changed and at such time any of the Rights Certificates shall have been
countersigned but not delivered, the Rights Agent may adopt the countersignature
under its prior name and deliver Rights Certificates so countersigned; and in
case at that time any of the Rights Certificates shall not have been
countersigned, the Rights Agent may countersign such Rights Certificates either
in its prior name or in its changed name; and in all such cases such Rights
Certificates shall have the full force provided in the Rights 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
conditions, by all of which the Company and the holders of Rights 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 (including, without limitation, the identity of any Acquiring Person and
the determination of Current Market Price) 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
the Chairman of the Board, the President, any Vice President, the Treasurer, any
Assistant Treasurer, the Secretary or any Assistant 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

                                       44
<PAGE>
 
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
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
Rights Certificates or be required to verify the same (except as to its
countersignature on such Rights Certificates), 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 Rights 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 Rights Certificate;
nor shall it be responsible for any adjustment required under the provisions of
Section 11 or Section 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 Rights 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 shares of Common Stock or
Preferred Stock to be issued pursuant to this Agreement or any Rights
Certificate or as to whether any shares of Common Stock or Preferred Stock 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.

                                       45
<PAGE>
 
                (g)  The Rights Agent is hereby authorized and directed to
accept instructions with respect to the performance of its duties hereunder from
the Chairman of the Board, the President, any Vice President, the Secretary, any
Assistant Secretary, the Treasurer or any Assistant Treasurer of the Company,
and to apply to 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 either 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, however, reasonable care was exercised in the
                       --------  -------                                      
selection and continued employment thereof.

                (j)  No provision of this Agreement shall require the Rights
Agent to expend or risk its own funds or otherwise incur any financial liability
in the performance of any of its duties hereunder or in the exercise of its
rights if there shall be reasonable grounds for believing that repayment of such
funds or adequate indemnification against such risk or liability is not
reasonably assured to it.

                (k)  If, with respect to any Rights Certificate surrendered to
the Rights Agent for exercise or transfer, the certificate attached to the form
of assignment or form of election to purchase, as the case may be, has either
not been completed or indicates an affirmative

                                       46
<PAGE>
 
response to clause 1 and/or 2 thereof, the Rights Agent shall not take any
further action with respect to such requested exercise of transfer without first
consulting with the Company.

          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 thirty (30) days' notice in writing mailed to the Company, and to
each transfer agent of the Common Stock and Preferred Stock, by registered or
certified mail, and to the holders of the Rights Certificates by first-class
mail.  The Company may remove the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent
upon thirty (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 Stock and Preferred Stock, by registered or certified mail, and to the
holders of the Rights 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 thirty (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 Rights Certificate (who shall, with such notice, submit his
Rights Certificate for inspection by the Company), then any registered holder of
any Rights 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 any state
of the United States, in good standing, which is authorized to do business as a
banking institution in such state, is authorized under such laws to exercise
corporate trust powers, is subject to supervision or examination by federal or
state authority and has at the time of its appointment as Rights Agent a
combined capital and surplus of at least $100,000,000 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

                                       47
<PAGE>
 
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 Stock and the Preferred Stock, and mail a
notice thereof in writing to the registered holders of the Rights 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 Rights Certificates evidencing Rights in
such form as may be approved by the Board to reflect any adjustment or change in
the Purchase Price and the number or kind or class of shares or other securities
or property purchasable under the Rights Certificates made in accordance with
the provisions of this Agreement.  In addition, in connection with the issuance
or sale of shares of Common Stock following the Distribution Date and prior to
the redemption or expiration of the Rights, the Company (a) shall, with respect
to shares of Common Stock so issued or sold pursuant to the exercise of stock
options or under any employee plan or arrangement, or upon the exercise,
conversion or exchange of securities hereinafter issued by the Company, and (b)
may, in any other case, if deemed necessary or appropriate by the Board, issue
Rights Certificates representing the appropriate number of Rights in connection
with such issuance or sale; provided, however, that (i) no such Rights
                            --------  -------                         
Certificate shall be issued if, and to the extent that, the Company shall be
advised by counsel that such issuance would create a significant risk of
material adverse tax consequences to the Company or the Person to whom such
Rights Certificate would be issued, and (ii) no such Rights Certificate shall be
issued if, and to the extent that, appropriate adjustment shall otherwise have
been made in lieu of the issuance thereof.

                                       48
<PAGE>
 
          Section 23.  Redemption and Termination.
                       -------------------------- 

                (a)  The Board may, at its option, at any time prior to the
earlier of (i) the Close of Business on the tenth Business Day following the
Stock Acquisition Date (or, if the Stock Acquisition Date shall have occurred
prior to the Record Date, the Close of Business on the tenth Business Day
following the Record Date) or (ii) the Final Expiration Date, redeem all but not
less than all of the then outstanding Rights at a redemption price of $.01 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 may not redeem any Rights following its
declaration that any Person is an Adverse Person. The Company may, at its
option, pay the Redemption Price in cash, shares of Common Stock (based on the
Current Market Price, as defined in Section 11(d)(i) hereof, of the shares of
Common Stock at the time of redemption) or any other form of consideration
deemed appropriate by the Board. 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.

                (b)  Immediately upon the action of the Board ordering the
redemption of the Rights, evidence of which shall have been filed with the
Rights Agent 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 for each Right so held.
Promptly after the action of the Board ordering the redemption of the Rights,
the Company shall give notice of such redemption to the Rights Agent and the
holders of the then outstanding Rights by mailing such notice to all such
holders at each holder's last address as it appears 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 Stock. 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.

                                       49
<PAGE>
 
          Section 24.  Notice of Certain Events.
                       ------------------------ 

                (a)  In case the Company shall propose, at any time after the
Distribution Date, (i) to pay any dividend payable in stock of any class to the
holders of Preferred Stock or to make any other distribution to the holders of
Preferred Stock (other than a regular quarterly cash dividend out of earnings or
retained earnings of the Company), or (ii) to offer to the holders of Preferred
Stock rights or warrants to subscribe for or to purchase any additional shares
of Preferred Stock or shares of stock of any class or any other securities,
rights or options, or (iii) to effect any reclassification of its Preferred
Stock (other than a reclassification involving only the subdivision of
outstanding shares of Preferred Stock), or (iv) to effect any consolidation or
merger into or with any other Person (other than a Subsidiary of the Company in
a transaction which complies with Section 11(o) hereof), 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 transaction or a series of related transactions,
of more than 50% of the assets, cash flow or earning power of the Company and
its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any other Person or Persons (other than
the Company and/or any of its Subsidiaries in one or more transactions each of
which complies with Section 11(o) hereof), or (v) to effect the liquidation,
dissolution or winding up of the Company, then, in each such case, the Company
shall give to each holder of a Rights Certificate, to the extent feasible and 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 shares of Preferred
Stock, if any such date is to be fixed, and such notice shall be so given in the
case of any action covered by clause (i) or (ii) above at least twenty (20) days
prior to the record date for determining holders of the shares of Preferred
Stock for purposes of such action, and in the case of any such other action, at
least twenty (20) days prior to the date of the taking of such proposed action
or the date of participation therein by the holders of the shares of Preferred
Stock whichever shall be the earlier.

                                       50
<PAGE>
 
                (b)  In case any of the events set forth in Section 11(a)(ii)
hereof shall occur, then, in any such case, (i) the Company shall as soon as
practicable thereafter give to each holder of a Rights Certificate, to the
extent feasible and 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, and (ii) all
references in the preceding paragraph to Preferred Stock shall be deemed
thereafter to refer to Common Stock and/or, if appropriate, other securities.

          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 Rights
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:

          Lukens Inc.
          50 South First Avenue
          Coatesville, Pennsylvania  19320
          Attention:  Secretary

Subject to the provisions of Section 21, any notice or demand authorized by this
Agreement to be given or made by the Company or by the holder of any Rights
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 and Trust Company
          40 Wall Street
          New York, New York 10005
          Attention:  Vice President

Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the
Company or the Rights Agent to the holder of any Rights Certificate (or, if
prior to the Distribution Date, to the holder of certificates representing
shares of Common Stock) 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.

                                       51
<PAGE>
 
          Section 26.  Supplements and Amendments.  Prior to the Distribution
                       --------------------------                            
Date and subject to the penultimate sentence of this Section 26, the Company and
the Rights Agent shall, if the Board so directs, supplement or amend any
provision of this Agreement without the approval of any holders of certificates
representing shares of Common Stock.  From and after the Distribution Date and
subject to the penultimate sentence of this Section 26, the Company and the
Rights Agent shall, if the Board so directs, supplement or amend this Agreement
without the approval of any holders of Rights Certificates in order (i) to cure
any ambiguity, (ii) to correct or supplement any provision contained herein
which may be defective or inconsistent with any other provisions herein, (iii)
to shorten or lengthen any time period hereunder, or (iv) to change or
supplement the provisions hereunder in any manner which the Company may deem
necessary or desirable and which shall not adversely affect the interests of the
holders of Rights Certificates (other than an Acquiring Person, an Adverse
Person or an Affiliate or Associate of an Acquiring Person or an Adverse
Person); provided, this Agreement may not be supplemented or amended to
         --------                                                      
lengthen, pursuant to clause (iii) of this sentence, (A) a time period relating
to when the Rights may be redeemed at such time as the Rights are not then
redeemable, or (B) any other time period unless such lengthening is for the
purpose of protecting, enhancing or clarifying the rights of, and/or the
benefits to, the holders of Rights (other than an Acquiring Person, an Adverse
Person or an Affiliate or Associate of an Acquiring Person or an Adverse
Person).  Upon the delivery of a certificate from an appropriate officer of the
Company which states that the proposed supplement or amendment is in compliance
with the terms of this Section 26, the Rights Agent shall execute such
supplement or amendment.  Notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement
to the contrary, no supplement or amendment shall be made which changes the
Redemption Price or the number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred
Stock for which a Right is exercisable.  Prior to the Distribution Date, the
interests of the holders of Rights shall be deemed coincident with the interests
of the holders of Common Stock.

          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

                                       52
<PAGE>
 
benefit of their respective successors and assigns hereunder.

          Section 28.  Determinations and Actions by the Board of Directors.
                       ----------------------------------------------------  
For all purposes of this Agreement, any calculation of the number of shares of
Common Stock outstanding at any particular time, including for purposes of
determining the particular percentage of such outstanding shares of Common Stock
of which any Person is the Beneficial Owner, shall be made in accordance with
the last sentence of Rule 13d-3(d)(1)(i) of the General Rules and Regulations
under the Exchange Act.  The Board (with, where specifically provided for
herein, the concurrence of the Outside Directors) or, where specifically
provided for herein, the Outside Directors, shall have the exclusive power and
authority to administer this Agreement and to exercise all rights and powers
specifically granted to the Board (with, where specifically provided for herein,
the concurrence of the Outside Directors) or, when specifically provided for
herein, the Outside Directors.  In addition, the Board shall have the exclusive
power and authority as may be necessary or advisable in the administration of
this Agreement, including, without limitation, the right and power to (i)
interpret the provisions of this Agreement and (ii) make all determinations
deemed necessary or advisable for the administration of this Agreement
(including a determination to redeem or not redeem the Rights, to declare that a
Person is an Adverse Person or to amend the Agreement). All such actions,
calculations, interpretations and determinations (including, for purposes of
clause (y) below, all omissions with respect to the foregoing) which are done or
made by the Board (with, where specifically provided for herein, the concurrence
of the Outside Directors) or, where provided for herein, the Outside Directors,
in good faith, shall (x) be final, conclusive and binding on the Company, the
Rights Agent, the holders of the Rights and all other parties and (y) not
subject the Board or the Outside Directors to any liability to the holders of
the Rights.

          Section 29.  Benefits of this Agreement.  Nothing in this Agreement
                       --------------------------                            
shall be construed to give to any Person other than the Company, the Rights
Agent and the registered holders of the Rights Certificates (and, prior to the
Distribution Date, registered holders of the Common Stock) any legal or
equitable right, remedy or

                                       53
<PAGE>
 
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 Rights Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date, registered holders
of the Common Stock).

          Section 30.  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 held by such
court or authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable and the Board 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 Business Day following the
date of such determination by the Board.  Without limiting the foregoing, if any
provision requiring that a determination be made by less than the entire Board
(or with the concurrence of a group of directors consisting of less than the
entire Board) is held by a court of competent jurisdiction or other authority to
be invalid, void or unenforceable, such determination shall then be made by the
Board in accordance with applicable law and the Company's certificate of
incorporation and by-laws.

          Section 31.  Governing Law.  This Agreement, each Right and each
                       -------------                                      
Rights 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 made
and to be performed entirely within such state.

          Section 32.  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.

                                       54
<PAGE>
 
          Section 33.  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.

                                       55
<PAGE>
 
          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.


Attest:                               LUKENS INC.
                                      
                                      
                                      
  By   /s/      William D. Sprague    By       /s/   R.W. Van Sant
     -------------------------------     --------------------------------------
     Name:   William D. Sprague          Name:  R.W. Van Sant
     Title: Secretary                    Title: Chairman and
                                                  Chief Executive Officer
                                      
Attest:                               AMERICAN STOCK TRANSFER AND 
                                      TRUST COMPANY                            
                                                                               
                                                                               
  By   /s/       Susan Silber         By     /s/     Herbert J. Lemmer     
     -------------------------------     --------------------------------------
     Name:   Susan Silber                Name:  Herbert J. Lemmer               
     Title:  Assistant Secretary         Title: Vice President                  

                                       56
<PAGE>
 
                                                                Exhibit A
                                                                ---------

                                  LUKENS INC.

                    ---------------------------------------
        
                   AMENDMENT TO CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATIONS,
                           PREFERENCES AND RIGHTS OF
                 SERIES A JUNIOR PARTICIPATING PREFERRED STOCK

                         Pursuant to Section 151 of the
                           General Corporation Law of
                             the State of Delaware


          Lukens Inc., a corporation organized and existing under the General
Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the "Corporation"), in accordance with
the provisions of Section 103 thereof, does hereby certify:

          FIRST:  That the Corporation filed a Certificate of Designations,
Preferences and Rights on August 3, 1987 (as amended prior to the date hereof,
the "Certificate of Designations") creating a series of 60,000 shares of
preferred stock designated as "Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock."

          SECOND:  That the Corporation filed a Certificate of Increase on
August 28, 1996 to increase the number of shares constituting the series from
60,000 to 75,000.

          THIRD:  That none of the shares of the Corporation's Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock have been issued as of the last date set forth
below.

          FOURTH:  That the Certificate of Designations is hereby amended to
change the Rights Declaration Date (as referenced therein) from July 29, 1987 to
September 25, 1996 and that the foregoing amendment to the Certificate of
Designations was effected by the following resolution adopted by the Board at a
duly convened meeting of the Board held on September 25, 1996, pursuant to the
authority vested in it by the provisions of the Restated Certificate of
Incorporation of the Corporation:
<PAGE>
 
      RESOLVED, that, subject to the filing by the Company of an
      Amendment to Certificate of Designations, Preferences and Rights of
      Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock with the Secretary of
      State of the State of Delaware, the Certificate of Designations,
      Preferences and Rights of Series A Junior Participating Preferred
      Stock filed by the Company with the Secretary of State of the State
      of Delaware on August 3, 1987, as amended by the Certificate of
      Increase filed on August 28, 1996 (the "Certificate of
      Designations"), be amended to change the Rights Declaration Date
      (as defined in the Certificate of Designations) from July 29, 1987
      to September 25, 1996.

          FIFTH:  That this Amendment to Certificate of Designations,
Preferences and Rights of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock has been
duly adopted in accordance with the provisions of Section 151 of the General
Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

          SIXTH:  That this Amendment to Certificate of Designations,
Preferences and Rights of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock shall
not become effective until 5:01 p.m., Philadelphia time, on [August 10, 1997].

          The Corporation has caused this Certificate to be signed by its
___________________ this ___ day of ____________, 19__.



                              ------------------------------------------------ 
                              Name:
                              Title:


                                      A-2
<PAGE>
 
                                                                  Exhibit B
                                                                  ---------



                         [Form of Rights Certificate]


Certificate No. R-                                    ________ Rights


NOT EXERCISABLE AFTER SEPTEMBER 25, 2006 OR EARLIER IF REDEEMED BY THE COMPANY.
THE RIGHTS ARE SUBJECT TO REDEMPTION, AT THE OPTION OF THE COMPANY, AT $.01 PER
RIGHT ON THE TERMS SET FORTH IN THE RENEWED RIGHTS AGREEMENT.  UNDER CERTAIN
CIRCUMSTANCES, RIGHTS BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY AN ACQUIRING PERSON OR AN ADVERSE
PERSON OR AN AFFILIATE OR ASSOCIATE OF AN ACQUIRING PERSON OR AN ADVERSE PERSON
(AS SUCH TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE RENEWED RIGHTS AGREEMENT) WHETHER CURRENTLY
HELD BY OR ON BEHALF OF SUCH PERSON OR BY ANY SUBSEQUENT HOLDER OF SUCH RIGHTS
MAY BECOME NULL AND VOID.  [THE RIGHTS REPRESENTED BY THIS RIGHTS 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 RENEWED RIGHTS AGREEMENT).  ACCORDINGLY, THIS
RIGHTS CERTIFICATE AND THE RIGHTS REPRESENTED HEREBY MAY BECOME NULL AND VOID IN
THE CIRCUMSTANCES SPECIFIED IN SECTION 7(e) OF THE RENEWED RIGHTS AGREEMENT.]/*/
THE RIGHTS SHALL NOT BE EXERCISABLE, AND SHALL BE VOID SO LONG AS HELD, BY A
HOLDER IN ANY JURISDICTION WHERE THE REQUISITE QUALIFICATION TO THE ISSUANCE TO
THE HOLDER, OR THE EXERCISE BY SUCH HOLDER, OF RIGHTS IN SUCH JURISDICTION SHALL
NOT HAVE BEEN OBTAINED OR BE OBTAINABLE.



                               Rights Certificate

                                  LUKENS INC.


-------------------
*   The portion of the legend in brackets shall be inserted only if applicable,
    shall be modified to apply to an Acquiring Person or an Adverse Person, as
    applicable, and shall replace the preceding sentence.
<PAGE>
 
        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
Renewed Rights Agreement, dated as of September 25, 1996, as amended, restated,
extended or renewed from time to time (the "Renewed Rights Agreement"), between
Lukens Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), and American Stock Transfer
and Trust Company (the "Rights Agent"), to purchase from the Company at any time
prior to 5:00 P.M. (Philadelphia time) on September 25, 2006, at the office or
offices of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose, or its successors as
Rights Agent, one one-hundredth of a fully paid, nonassessable share of Series
A Junior Participating Preferred Stock (the "Preferred Stock") of the Company,
at a purchase price of $80 per one one-hundredth of a share (the "Purchase
Price"), upon presentation and surrender of this Rights Certificate with the
Form of Election to Purchase set forth on the reverse hereof and the Certificate
contained therein duly executed. The number of Rights evidenced by this Rights
Certificate (and the number of shares which may be purchased upon exercise
thereof) set forth above, and the Purchase Price set forth above, are the number
and Purchase Price as of                        , based on the Preferred Stock
as constituted at such date.

        From and after the first occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event (as
such term is defined in the Renewed Rights Agreement), if the Rights evidenced
by this Rights Certificate are beneficially owned by (i) an Acquiring Person, an
Adverse Person or an Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person or an Adverse
Person (as such terms are defined in the Renewed Rights Agreement), which the
Board, in its sole discretion, determines is or was involved in or caused or
facilitated, directly or indirectly (including through any change in the Board),
such Section 11(a)(ii) Event, (ii) a transferee of any Acquiring Person or
Adverse Person (or of any such Associate or Affiliate) who becomes a transferee
after such Acquiring Person or Adverse Person becomes such or (iii) under
certain circumstances specified in the Renewed Rights Agreement, a transferee of
such Acquiring Person or Adverse Person (or of any such Associate or Affiliate)
who becomes a transferee prior to or concurrently with such Acquiring Person or
Adverse Person becoming such,


                                       2
<PAGE>
 
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.

          The rights shall not be exercisable, and shall be void so long as
held, by a holder in any jurisdiction where the requisite qualification to the
issuance to the holder, or the exercise by such holder, of rights in such
jurisdiction shall not have been obtained or be obtainable.

          As provided in the Renewed Rights Agreement, the Purchase Price and
the number and kind of shares of Preferred Stock or other securities, which may
be purchased upon the exercise of the Rights evidenced by this Rights
Certificate are subject to modification and adjustment upon the happening of
certain events, including Triggering Events (as such term is defined in the
Renewed Rights Agreement).

          This Rights Certificate is subject to all of the terms, provisions and
conditions of the Renewed Rights Agreement, which terms, provisions and
conditions are hereby incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof
and to which Renewed 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
Rights Certificates, which limitations of rights include the temporary
suspension of the exercisability of such Rights under the specific
circumstances set forth in the Renewed Rights Agreement.  Copies of the Renewed
Rights Agreement are on file at the above-mentioned office of the Rights Agent
and are also available upon written request to the Company.

          This Rights Certificate, with or without other Rights Certificates,
upon surrender at the principal office or offices of the Rights Agent designated
for such purpose, may be exchanged for another Rights Certificate or Rights
Certificates of like tenor and date evidencing Rights entitling the holder to
purchase a like aggregate number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred
Stock as the Rights evidenced by the Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates
surrendered shall have entitled such holder to purchase.  If this Rights
Certificate


                                       3
<PAGE>
 
shall be exercised in part, the holder shall be entitled to receive upon
surrender hereof another Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates for the
number of whole Rights not exercised.

          Subject to the provisions of the Renewed Rights Agreement, the Rights
evidenced by this Certificate may (unless the Board of Directors (with the
concurrence of a majority of the Outside Directors (as such term is defined in
the Renewed Rights Agreement)) shall have made a determination pursuant to
Section 11(a)(ii)(D) of the Renewed Rights Agreement that a Person is an Adverse
Person) be redeemed by the Company at its option at a redemption price of $.01
per Right at any time prior to the earlier of the Close of Business on (i) the
tenth Business Day following the Stock Acquisition Date (as such time period may
be extended pursuant to the Renewed Rights Agreement) and (ii) the Final
Expiration Date (as such terms are defined in the Renewed Rights Agreement).

          No fractional shares of Preferred Stock (other than fractions which
are integral multiples of one one-hundredth of a share of Preferred Stock, which
may, at the election of the Company, be evidenced by depositary receipts) are
required to be issued by the Company upon the exercise of any Right or Rights
evidenced hereby, but in lieu thereof a cash payment may be made, as provided in
the Renewed Rights Agreement.

          No holder of this Rights Certificate shall be entitled to vote or
receive dividends or be deemed for any purpose the holder of shares of Preferred
Stock 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 Renewed
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 Renewed Rights Agreement), or to receive dividends or
subscription rights, or otherwise, until the Right or Rights evidenced by this
Rights Certificate shall have been exercised as provided in the Renewed Rights
Agreement.


                                       4
<PAGE>
 
          This Rights 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 _________ __, _____

ATTEST:                                   LUKENS INC.        



                                          By  
----------------------------------           -----------------------------
Secretary                                    Title


Countersigned:



---------------------------


By 
   ------------------------
   Authorized Signature




                                       5
<PAGE>
 
                 [Form of Reverse Side of Rights Certificate]


                                  ASSIGNMENT
                                  ----------


                (To be executed by the registered holder if such
              holder desires to transfer the Rights Certificate.)


FOR VALUE RECEIVED 
                  ---------------------------------------

hereby sells, assigns and transfers unto 
                                        -----------------

---------------------------------------------------------
     (Please print name and address of transferee)


---------------------------------------------------------

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


Dated: 
      ------------------, -----


                                             -----------------------------------
                                             Signature


Signature Guaranteed:


                                  Certificate
                                  -----------

          The undersigned hereby certifies by checking the appropriate boxes
that:

          (1) this Rights 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 in the Renewed Rights Agreement);
<PAGE>
 
          (2) after due inquiry and to the best knowledge of the undersigned, it
[  ] did [  ] did not acquire the Rights evidenced by this Rights 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: 
      -------------,                            -----------------------------
                                                Signature

Signature Guaranteed:


                                     NOTICE
                                     ------

          The signature to the foregoing Assignment and Certificate must
correspond to the name as written upon the face of this Rights Certificate in
every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever.
<PAGE>
 
                          FORM OF ELECTION TO PURCHASE
                          ----------------------------

                      (To be executed if holder desires 
                    to exercise Rights represented by the 
                             Rights Certificate.)


To:  LUKENS INC.:

          The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise __________
Rights represented by this Rights Certificate to purchase the shares of
Preferred Stock issuable upon the exercise of the Rights (or such other
securities 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 and delivered to:


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
Rights Certificate, a new Rights Certificate for the balance 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: 
      ----------------, -----


                                     -----------------------------------------
                                     Signature
<PAGE>
 
Signature Guaranteed:


                                  Certificate
                                  -----------

          The undersigned hereby certifies by checking the appropriate boxes
that:

          (1)  the Rights evidenced by this Rights 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 in the Renewed Rights Agreement);

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


Dated: 
       --------------, -----              -----------------------------
                                          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 Rights Certificate
in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever.