The title compound, C(30)H(27)O(8)P (2), was formed as one of two products {(1) [Krawczyk et al. (2010 ▶). Acta Cryst. E66 (cv2752)] and (2)} in the reaction of dimethyl acetyl-enedicarboxyl-ate with triphenyl-phosphine. The mol-ecule of (2) consists of a five-membered carbocyclic ring. The P atom is a part of a triphenylphosphoranylidene substituent. In contrast to (1), the five-membered ring of (2) is planar, the r.m.s. deviation being only 0.009 (2) Å.