Palladium catalysed arylation of the electron rich olefin butyl vinyl ether 1 by aryl halides 2 has been accomplished with DPPP/Pd(OAc)(2), (DPPP = 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane), thus, obviating the need for expensive, commercially unavailable aryl triflates and toxic inorganic additives. In the presence of three equivalents of DPPP, the reaction proceeds with remarkable regioselectivity, leading almost exclusively to substitution by various aryl groups at the olefinic carbon a to the heteroatom of 1. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.