Under a nitrogen atmosphere, a suspension solution containing 3,5-difluorobromobenzene (71 g), potassium carbonate (75 g), tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium (0) (2.2 g), and ethanol (250 mL) was heated to 70° C., and a solution in which 2-fluoro-4-(4-propylphenyl)phenylboronic acid (100 g, prepared by a method disclosed in EP 2123623) had been dissolved in ethanol (200 mL) was dropped thereinto. Then, the resulting solution was stirred at 70° C. for 5 hours. The solution was cooled with ice and filtered to separate precipitated crystals and an inorganic salt, the obtained solid was dissolved in a solution containing hexane and toluene (4:1), and then the solution was purified by silica gel column chromatography. The purified product was recrystallized from ethanol to yield 18.7 g of 3,5-difluoro-[2-fluoro-4-(4-propylphenyl)phenyl]benzene.
