Acylation of Meldrum's acid with arylacetic acid imidazolides as a convenient method for the synthesis of 4-aryl-3-oxobutanoates
C-Acylation of Meldrum's acid by (het)arylacetic acids in ethanol in the presence of 1,1′-carbonyldiimidazole leads to ethyl 4-(het)aryl-3- oxobutanoates in high yields.