A comparative study on the catalytic activity of different group 9 [Cp*M(III)] complexes in the formal [4 + 2] cycloaddition of arenes with rarely explored free imines and dioxazolones for the construction of multisubstituted quinazolines is reported herein. This investigation revealed that the cobalt catalyst is uniquely suited to this transformation due to its strong Lewis acidity and high sensitivity to steric hindrance.