The Phenol trimer, 5,5,5"-trichloro-1,1,1':3',1"-terphenyl-2,2',2"-triol (1), facilely affords the 1:1 complex (1) with triethylamine owing to its enhanced acidity. IR spectra reveal that I is a proton transfer complex. In the X-ray structure of 1, a long phenoxide C-O bond is observed that may be due to unusual sp(3) hybridization of the phenoxide oxygen atom caused by strong intra- and inter-molecular hydrogen bonding.