Nickel-catalyzed reductive homocoupling of aryl ethers has been achieved with Mg(anthracene)(thf)3 as a readily available low-cost reductant. DFT calculations provided a rationale for the specific efficiency of the diorganomagnesium-type two-electron reducing agent. The calculations show that the dianionic anthracene-9,10-diyl ligand reduces the two aryl ether substrates, resulting in the homocoupling