a strong base, the 13-membered cyclic compound 3 yielded, by loss of acetonitrile or its equivalent, the bicyclic product 5 instead of the 17-membered compound 4 as expected (Scheme 2). Investigation of model compounds (Scheme 4) and of model reactions (Schemes 5 and 6) led to the conclusion that the reaction proceeds via an intermediate formaldehyde imine; a Schiff base, e.g.3b(Scheme 5), which reacts