Kinney National Company

Kinney National Company was an American conglomerate company from 1966 to 1972. Its successor was Warner Communications.

History

It was formed in 1966 as Kinney National Services, Inc., when the Kinney Parking Company and the National Cleaning Company were merged. The new company was headed by Steve Ross.[1]

In 1967, Kinney National expanded by acquiring National Periodical Publications (more commonly, but not yet officially called DC Comics), Hollywood talent agency Ashley-Famous, and Panavision. Ted Ashley (from Ashley-Famous) suggested to Ross that he buy out the cash-strapped film company Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, which had purchased Atlantic Records that same year.[2]

When the acquisition of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts was completed in 1969, Ashley-Famous was sold because of anti-trust laws prohibiting a company from owning both a production studio and a talent agency. Ted Ashley was put in charge of the movie studio. Beginning with the unexpected success of the concert documentary Woodstock (1970), the company started scoring box office hits again, reestablishing Warner Bros. as a major studio.

In 1970, Kinney National bought Jac Holzman's Elektra Records and Nonesuch Records.

Kinney National purchased wood flooring manufacturer Circle Floor from Seymour Milstein and Paul Milstein for $15 million, with the Milsteins remaining as managers of the unit until 1971.[3]

Financial scandal

Due to a financial scandal involving price fixing in its parking operations,[1] Kinney National spun off its non-entertainment assets in 1972 as the National Kinney Corporation, and renamed the remaining Kinney National Company to Warner Communications Inc..

Steve Ross was the company's sole CEO, president, and chairman. Directors included Charles A. Agemian, the CEO of Garden State National Bank.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Connie Bruck (2013). Master of the Game: Steve Ross and the Creation of Time Warner. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781476737706. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  2. ↑ The Emergence of Cinema
  3. ↑ New York Times: "Milstein Opens Throttle as Builder" October 18, 1981
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