A solution of 3.99 g of 2-butyl-1-[(2'-carboxybiphenyl-4-yl)methyl]-4-chloro-5-hydroxymethylimidazole (Example 94) and 10 mL of 1.00 N aqueous sodium hydroxide in 60 mL of methanol was added dropwise over 0.25 hour to a solution of 3.73 g of N-(N,N-diphenylcarbamoyl)pyridinium chloride in 30 mL of methanol at 25° C. the resulting mixture was stirred at 25° C. for 0.75 hours and then was diluted with ethyl acetate. This organic solution was washed with water and brine, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and concentrated to afford 6.55 g of crude 2-butyl-4-chloro-1-[(2'-(N,N-diphenylcarbamoyloxycarbonyl)biphenyl-4-yl)methyl]-5-hydroxymethylimidazole which was used in the following step without further purification.
