ST. LOUIS — Yeast and bakery ingredient company AB Mauri North America has acquired Omega Yeast Labs LLC, described as a leader in the craft-brewing liquid yeast market.

Financial terms of the transaction, finalized on Aug. 14, weren’t disclosed. Omega Yeast Labs operates a research, development and production headquarters at a 14,000-square-foot facility in Chicago and has locations in the Midwest, with about 50 employees, AB Mauri said.

Omega Yeast Labs is known in the domestic craft-brewing sector for its innovation capabilities and transformational yeast strains, according to AB Mauri. The company called the acquisition complementary to its AB Biotek division, which develops specialty yeast solutions for markets such as alcoholic beverages (including beer, wine, distilled spirits, seltzer and cider), bioethanol and animal nutrition.

“The acquisition of Omega Yeast will further strengthen and accelerate our North American specialty yeast business for craft beer,” said Brent Fenton, president of St. Louis-based AB Mauri North America. “This represents a unique opportunity to combine the global technology strength of AB Biotek together with a leading, high-quality liquid yeast producer here in the US.”

Omega Yeast Labs’ yeast strains span a wide range of craft brewing styles, from traditional lagers and ales to West Coast IPAs, hard seltzers and more, AB Mauri noted. The Omega Yeast brand joins an AB Mauri product roster that includes Fleischmann’s Yeast for baking and AB Biotek’s Pinnacle for beer, wine and distilled spirits.

In addition, AB Mauri said the acquisition dovetails with its recent investments in a specialty dry yeast plant in Hull, UK, and a beverage applications center in Etten-Leur, The Netherlands.

“Omega Yeast has supplied professional and home craft brewers across the country with leading liquid yeast solutions for more than the past decade, since Lance Shaner and I founded the business in 2013,” said Mark Schwarz, co-founder of Omega Yeast. “We look forward to even greater days ahead under the AB Mauri and AB Biotek umbrella, as we expect to grow our footprint in both liquid and dry solutions and build an even more robust portfolio of solutions to meet the needs of craft brewers today and tomorrow.”