A mixture of cyclic oligoethers containing several alkoxide groups was obtained by the spontaneous anionic oligomerization of potassium glycidoxide in the presence of 18-crown-6. Two series of experiments were performed, i.e., at the crown ether to potassium glycidoxide molar ratio equal to 1:1 and 3:1. Hexamers and heptamers were found as the main reaction products in the first system and the trimer in the second one. They can be applied as new polyfunctional macroinitiators for the preparation of star-shaped polymers with a cyclic core. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V.. All rights reserved.