To a mixture of 4-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-(2-methyl-1-imidazolyl)-5-oxazolebutanol (315 mg), 2-methylphenol (216 mg), tributylphosphine (405 mg) and tetrahydrofuran (5 ml) was added 1,1′-(azodicarbonyl) dipiperidine (505 mg) at room temperature, and the resulting mixture was stirred for 1 hour. After the reaction mixture was concentrated, the residue was subjected to silica gel column chromatography, and 4-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-(2-methyl-1-imidazolyl)-5-[4-(2-methylphenoxy)butyl]oxazole was obtained as an oil (367 mg, 91%) from an ethyl acetate-hexane (1:1, v/v)-eluted fraction.
