Electrospray ionization in combination with multistage mass spectrometry experiments in a linear ion trap mass spectrometer was used to generate and study the gasphase ion chemistry of the metallalactones [(CH 3 CO 2 )Ni-(CH 2 CO 2 )] − (m/z 175, 5a) and [(CH 3 CO 2 )Pd(CH 2 CO 2 )] − (m/z 223, 5b). Low-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) resulted in decarboxylation to produce novel organometallic ions at m/z 131 (Ni) and m/z 179 (Pd). Isotope labeling experiments, bimolecular gas-phase reactions with allyl iodide, and DFT calculations reveal that decarboxylation primarily occurs from the acetato ligand to yield ions of the form [(CH 3 )M(CH 2 CO 2 )] − (M = Pd, Ni). Further CID experiments on [(CH 3 )M(CH 2 CO 2 )] − together with DFT calculations highlight the following. (1) Both palladium and nickel can facilitate C−C bond formation, with elimination of ethylene being observed.(2) The mechanism for formation of ethylene from [(CH 3 )M(CH 2 CO 2 )] − is inherently different for M = Pd versus M = Ni. Elimination of ethylene is competitive with further decarboxylation in the case of nickel, and nickel remains in the 2+ oxidation state throughout. In contrast, the palladium complex is reduced to palladium(0) upon C−C bond formation and undergoes a second decarboxylation before ethylene is released. Finally, the products of the ion−molecule reactions of [(CH 3 )Pd(CH 2 CO 2 )] − (7b) with allyl iodide provide evidence for the formation of the Pd(IV) intermediate [(CH 3 )(I)-(CH 2 CHCH 2 )Pd(CH 2 CO 2 )] − , which decomposes via a range of processes, including losses of iodide, propionate, allyl, and methyl radicals and reductive elimination of butane and methyl iodide.