Kinney National Company

Kinney National Company was a New York-based American conglomerate and holding company whose corporate development connected service businesses with the modern Warner entertainment group. Its immediate corporate predecessor, Kinney Service Corporation, was created in December 1961 through a combination of Kinney Parking, Kinney Rent-A-Car, Riverside Memorial Chapel, and City Service Cleaning Contractors. The company inherited a varied operating base that included parking facilities, vehicle rental, funeral services, cleaning contractors, maintenance companies, and related service businesses. The business expanded rapidly during the 1960s. It became publicly traded, acquired additional funeral and service companies, and merged with National Cleaning Contractors in 1966. The combined enterprise was renamed Kinney National Service, Inc. and began pursuing media and entertainment assets alongside its established service operations. This strategy brought National Periodical Publications, the publisher associated with DC Comics and Mad magazine; Ashley-Famous, a talent agency; Panavision; Coronet Communications; Elektra Records; Nonesuch Records; and, most significantly, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. The Warner transaction transformed Kinney’s identity. Kinney announced the Warner Bros.-Seven Arts acquisition in January 1969 and completed it later that year. Because antitrust rules restricted common ownership of a film studio and a talent agency, Ashley-Famous was divested before the Warner acquisition was completed. Warner Bros.-Seven Arts was subsequently restored to the Warner Bros. name, while Ted Ashley, who had helped originate the transaction, became an important Warner executive. Warner’s recovery as a film and recorded-music business, helped by releases such as Woodstock, made entertainment the group’s strategic center. Kinney also acquired a controlling interest in Hackensack Trust Company and purchased Television Communications Corporation in 1971, establishing a foundation for what became Warner Cable. At the same time, the company began separating its service operations from its media assets. The funeral businesses were sold to Service Corporation International, and most remaining non-media divisions were placed in National Kinney Corporation. The separation left Kinney’s media-focused corporate structure as the principal successor to the Kinney enterprise. In February 1972, the media company reincorporated as Warner Communications Inc. Steve Ross became its chairman, president, and chief executive. Warner Communications later expanded across film, television, music, publishing, cable, and interactive entertainment before merging with Time Inc. in 1990 to create Time Warner. Kinney National therefore ceased to exist as an independent corporate identity, but its acquisitions and reorganization formed an important bridge between a regional service conglomerate and one of the major American entertainment groups of the late twentieth century.

Kinney National grew out of a group of New York service businesses rather than a traditional entertainment studio. Kinney Parking, incorporated in 1945, operated parking facilities in the northeastern United States. Riverside Memorial Chapel supplied a funeral-services platform, while City Service Cleaning Contractors represented the cleaning and maintenance side of the proposed combination. These businesses were brought together in a merger completed on December 26, 1961, creating Kinney Service Corporation. Steve Ross became president and chief executive, Edward Rosenthal chairman, and Caesar Kimmel and Morton Rosenthal vice-presidents. The company sought outside capital soon after formation and became publicly traded on the American Stock Exchange. It added rental-car and cleaning operations, acquired funeral businesses including Walter B. Cook, and expanded its service footprint. In 1966, Kinney Service merged with National Cleaning Contractors, a company with roots reaching back to an 1886 New York cleaning business. The resulting enterprise adopted the name Kinney National Service, Inc., with National later removed from the corporate name. Beginning in 1967, Kinney pursued a substantial media strategy. It bought National Periodical Publications, the publisher linked to DC Comics and Mad magazine, and acquired the talent agency Ashley-Famous. It also purchased Panavision and later added Coronet Communications, Elektra Records, and Nonesuch Records. The decisive transaction was the acquisition of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, announced in January 1969 and completed in July. Ashley-Famous was sold because antitrust restrictions made simultaneous ownership of a film studio and a talent agency problematic. Warner Bros.-Seven Arts subsequently returned to the Warner Bros. name, with Ted Ashley taking a senior leadership role. Kinney continued to broaden its portfolio through a controlling interest in Hackensack Trust Company and the 1971 purchase of Television Communications Corporation. The latter became Warner Cable and gave the group a major foothold in cable television. Meanwhile, the service businesses were increasingly treated as separate from the media strategy. Kinney sold its funeral operations to Service Corporation International in June 1971 and transferred most remaining non-media assets to National Kinney Corporation in August. The remaining media-oriented company reincorporated as Warner Communications Inc. in February 1972. Steve Ross became its principal leader, while the former Kinney service executives largely moved to the spun-off company or retired over subsequent years. Warner Communications developed into a major entertainment conglomerate spanning film, television, music, publishing, cable, and interactive businesses. Its 1990 merger with Time Inc. created Time Warner. Accordingly, Kinney National is best understood as the transitional corporate vehicle through which a diversified New York services company assembled the assets and management structure that became Warner Communications.

1. 1972Reorganized as Warner Communications

   Kinney’s media successor adopted the Warner Communications name.

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2. 1971Service operations spun off

   Most non-media divisions were separated into National Kinney Corporation, while the media assets remained with Kinney.

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3. 1969Warner Bros.-Seven Arts acquired

   The transaction made film and entertainment the center of Kinney’s corporate strategy.

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4. 1967National Periodical Publications acquired

   Kinney entered comic-book and magazine publishing through the acquisition of National Periodical Publications.

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5. 1966Merger with National Cleaning Contractors

   The merger created the enlarged Kinney National Service, Inc.

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6. 1962The company becomes publicly traded

   Kinney Service Corporation pursued a public offering and traded on the American Stock Exchange.

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7. 1961Kinney Service Corporation is established

   A four-way combination of Kinney-related parking and rental operations with Riverside Memorial Chapel and City Service Cleaning Contractors created the company.

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Diversified conglomerate transitioning from local and regional service operations into a national media and entertainment group.

• Warner Bros.-Seven ArtsFilm and entertainment1969

  Kinney’s most consequential acquisition was the film and entertainment company Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. The purchase supplied a major studio, established entertainment brands, and a platform for the group’s subsequent expansion into music, television, and cable. After the acquisition, the company reverted to the Warner Bros. name. Its improved commercial performance helped make entertainment the strategic core of the reorganized Warner group.

• National Periodical PublicationsComic-book and magazine publishing1967

  National Periodical Publications was the publishing company that Kinney acquired in 1967. Its holdings included the business associated with DC Comics and the satirical magazine Mad. The acquisition gave Kinney a valuable library of characters and publishing properties that later became part of Warner’s broader entertainment portfolio.

• Elektra Records and Nonesuch RecordsRecorded music1970

  Kinney acquired Elektra Records and Nonesuch Records in 1970. These labels extended the company’s media strategy beyond film and publishing into recorded music, contributing assets that became important to the later Warner music business.

• Warner CableCable television1971

  Television Communications Corporation was acquired by Kinney in 1971 and renamed Warner Cable in 1973. The business gave the Warner successor a cable distribution operation and became an early component of the cable business later associated with Time Warner.

• Kinney service operationsBusiness services1961

  Before its entertainment pivot, Kinney operated or controlled parking facilities, automobile rental, cleaning and maintenance contractors, funeral homes, and related service companies. These operations formed the original economic base of the group but were largely sold or spun off during the 1971 reorganization.

• 1971Separate service operations from media assetsStrategy

  Kinney’s service businesses and media holdings had developed into substantially different operating groups.

  What changed. The company sold its funeral businesses and transferred most other non-media divisions to National Kinney Corporation.

  Aftermath. The remaining media company reincorporated as Warner Communications in 1972.

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• 1969Acquire Warner Bros.-Seven ArtsM&A

  Kinney’s earlier purchases had created a growing media portfolio, and the Warner transaction offered a much larger film and entertainment platform.

  What changed. Kinney announced the acquisition in January 1969 and completed it in July. Ashley-Famous was divested before completion to address antitrust restrictions on common ownership of a studio and talent agency.

  Aftermath. The deal shifted Kinney’s strategic center toward entertainment and led to the Warner Bros. corporate identity being restored.

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• 1972Kinney reincorporates as Warner Communications

  The media-focused successor adopted the Warner Communications name, ending Kinney National’s corporate identity.

  Leadership change
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• 1971Service businesses are separated from media assets

  Kinney announced and implemented a restructuring that placed most non-entertainment operations in National Kinney Corporation.

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• 1971Kinney buys Television Communications Corporation

  The transaction added cable television and recording-studio operations; the cable business was later known as Warner Cable.

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• 1970Kinney acquires Elektra and Nonesuch Records

  The purchase expanded Kinney’s recorded-music interests and strengthened the future Warner music portfolio.

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• 1969Kinney announces Warner Bros.-Seven Arts acquisition

  Kinney agreed to acquire Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, completing the transaction later that year and shifting the group toward entertainment.

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• 1969Ashley-Famous is divested on antitrust grounds

  Kinney sold its talent agency before completing the Warner acquisition because contemporary antitrust rules restricted common ownership of a film studio and talent agency.

  RegulationM&A
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• 1967Kinney acquires National Periodical Publications

  The acquisition added the publisher associated with DC Comics and Mad magazine to Kinney’s portfolio.

  M&A
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• 1966Kinney merges with National Cleaning Contractors

  The combination broadened Kinney’s service operations and produced Kinney National Service, Inc.

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• 1961Kinney Service Corporation is formed

  A merger involving Kinney Parking, Kinney Rent-A-Car, Riverside Memorial Chapel, and City Service Cleaning Contractors created the private Kinney Service Corporation.

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1. Kinney National Company