diff --git a/CHANGES b/CHANGES
index 5161697276..28aef3bef5 100644
--- a/CHANGES
+++ b/CHANGES
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+5587.	[bug]		A standalone libtool script no longer needs to be
+			present in PATH in order to build BIND 9 from a source
+			tarball prepared using "make dist". [GL #2504]
+
 5586.	[bug]		An invalid direction field in a LOC record resulted in
 			an INSIST failure. [GL #2499]
 
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index a85bc0a3c7..272f0b2192 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -107,9 +107,6 @@ AC_PROG_MAKE_SET
 # Checks for programs.
 m4_ifdef([AM_PROG_AR], [AM_PROG_AR]) # call AM_PROG_AR only if available
 
-AC_PATH_PROG([LIBTOOL], [libtool])
-AS_IF([test -z "$LIBTOOL"],
-      [AC_MSG_ERROR([The libtool script could not be found.])])
 AC_PROG_INSTALL
 AC_PROG_LN_S
 AX_POSIX_SHELL