Kinney National Services, Inc. was formed in 1966 when the Kinney Parking Company and the National Cleaning Company merged. The new company was headed by Steve Ross.
In 1964, Kinney National purchased wood flooring manufacturer Circle Floor from Seymour and Paul Milstein for $15 million with Paul remaining as manager of the unit until 1971. 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 then 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. 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.
Due to a financial scandal over its parking operations, Kinney National spun off its non-entertainment assets in 1971 (as National Kinney Corporation) and changed its own name to Warner Communications Inc. with Steve Ross as the company's sole CEO, president and chairman. Directors included Charles A. Agemian, the CEO of Garden State National Bank.
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