A suspension of 2-chloro-7-(3,5-diethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-1-methyl-1H-benzimidazole (92 mg, 0.318 mmol), 2,4-dichloro-6-methylphenol (114 mg, 0.643 mmol), potassium carbonate (89 mg, 0.643 mmol) in N,N-dimethylformamide (1.5 ml) was stirred at 90° C. for 5.5 days (2,4-dichloro-6-methylphenol and potassium carbonate were added in three equal portions each over 5.5 days). After cooling, the reaction mixture was diluted with water and extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic layer was washed with water and brine, dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel eluting with a 10-25% ethyl acetate/n-hexane gradient mixture to give 107 mg (0.249 mmol, 78.3%) of the title compound as an oil. The oil was crystallized from hexane to give 70 mg (51%) as a pale yellow crystal.
