Sugar secures $15 million for women's media

IVP and Sequoia invest and reinvest in the profitable company to ensure its global domination

Sugar Inc., a media company for women, announced this week that it has completed a $15 million later-stage round of financing led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) with participation from previous investor Sequoia Capital. The company has raised a total of $46 million since its founding in 2006.

Into celebrity gossip and entertainment news? Head over to PopSugar and catch up on Irina Shayk modeling on the beach or Jennifer Lopez being named “most beautiful person” by People magazine. More curious about learning the art of parenting? LilSugar has the skinny on kid-friendly treats and the latest changes in the public school system. Still not interested? Oh, right, you want GeekSugar, a technology and gadgets blog geared toward the interests of women.

Welcome to Sugar.

It’s an online media company that wants to be the first and only destination women direct their browsers to when looking for original content catered to their interests. The hubs listed above--PopSugar, LilSugar and GeekSugar--are just three of the many serving over 20 million readers worldwide. From fashion, beauty and sex to health, food and tech, Sugar has spared little expense in covering all their bases.

With just those 20 million monthly unique visitors, Sugar has driven over $250 million in commerce to its partners and achieved profitability for the full year of 2010, according to Brian Sugar, founder and CEO of the company.

Romantically enough, Brian co-founded the company with his wife, Lisa Sugar. Today, on the eve of its fifth birthday, Sugar employs 190 employees with operations in the U.S., Europe, Japan and Australia.

There have been reports that content powerhouses like Yahoo have expressed interest in purchasing Sugar, but Brian and Lisa prefer to keep it independent.

The latest funding round will be used for brand extensions, acquisitions and international growth.