In the presence of Pd(OAc)2 and norbornene as catalysts, two molecules of an ortho-substituted aryl iodide undergo arylaryl coupling to a palladium-bonded biphenylyl intermediate, which is hydrogenolyzed by benzyl alcohol to give 2,3′-disubstituted biaryl derivatives in satisfactory yields. A curious behaviour was observed with o-chloroiodobenzene, which gave activation of the CCl bond with four-membered ring formation.Key words: biphenyls, arylaryl coupling, multistep reactions, palladium, palladacycles, C-H activation, catalysis.