Condensation of 2-bromo-5,6-dichlorobenzimidazole (I) with 1,2,3,4-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-ribopyranose (II) by means of trimethylsilyl triflate and N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)acetamide in refluxing 1,2-dichloroethane afforded the acetylated ribopyranosyl benzimidazole (III). Subsequent hydrolysis of the acetate esters using either LiOH in aqueous dioxan or Na2CO3 in H2O-EtOH yielded the title compound.