p‐Alkoxy‐substituted cinnamylthiouronium salts 7, 13, 21a, and 21b reacted selectively with the 2‐acylamino‐1,3‐cyclopentanedione unit A of moenomycin A (1) to give the corresponding 2‐alkylated products 14a, 14b, 22a, and 22b. These products, depending on the pH of the solution, were either stable under the reaction conditions or they underwent retro‐Claisen‐type reactions. The method can be used for the attachment of reporter groups to moenomycin A for the synthesis of, for example, 25. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2002)