Lanka Ventures PLC (LVL) was incorporated in February 1992 as a venture capital company. The original shareholders of the Company included Asian Development Bank, John Keells Holdings, Forbes & Walker Limited and the DFCC Bank. The Company obtained a listing for its shares at the Colombo Stock Exchange in 1995.
Following the IPO in 1995 Hatton National Bank also became a major shareholder. As at 31 March 2009, DFCC Bank and Hatton National Bank were the major shareholders of the Company with shareholdings of 58% and 20% respectively. In January 2010, the two banks transferred their shareholdings to Acuity Partners (Private) Limited a joint venture company equally held by the two banks.
From inception LVL had been investing in a large number of sectors but in the recent past it had mainly focussed on investments in energy and healthcare sectors. In June 2006 LVL formed a fully owned subsidiary under the name LVL Energy Fund (Private) Limited (LEF) to channel its investments in the energy sector.
