The Friedel-Crafts condensation of 4-chlorobiphenyl (I) with 3-methylenetetrahydrofuran-2,5-dione (II) by means of AlCl3 in tetrachloroethane gives 4-(4'-chlorobiphenyl-4-yl)-2-methylene-4-oxobutyric acid (III), which is treated with thiophenol (IV) and K2CO3 in DMF/water, yielding racemic 4-(4'-chlorobiphenyl-4-yl)-4-oxo-2-(phenylsulfanylmethyl)butyric acid (V). Finally, racemic (V) is resolved by means of crystallization with (+)-cinchonine in acetone.