Oscar-winning producer Michael Sugar has raised US$30 million (S$39 million) to turn his boutique management and production company into the next big Hollywood talent shop.

Mr Sugar, whose clients include directors Steven Soderbergh and Cary Joji Fukunaga, raised the money from investors Swan & Legend Venture Partners, which has also backed celebrity chef Jose Andres' restaurant group, and MRC, the Hollywood studio that produced the movie Knives Out (2019) and television series Ozark (2017 to present).

Mr Sugar plans to use this new capital to move his company, Sugar23, into podcasting and book publishing. He also aims to expand its talent-representation business by hiring as many as 20 managers over the next 12 months.

Mr Sugar has already identified one new colleague: Ms Meredith Wechter, who represents Wonder Woman (2017) star Gal Gadot and Jason Momoa of Aquaman (2018), is reportedly set to join him.

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