Linde AG, the world’s second-largest maker of industrial gases, agreed to acquire Lincare Holdings Inc. for about $3.8 billion to add U.S. oxygen and respiratory therapy services delivered to the home.

Linde will pay $41.50 a share for Lincare, the Munich, Germany-based producer of industrial and medical gases said in a statement Sunday. That’s 22 percent more than Clearwater, Florida-based Lincare’s closing price on June 29 and 64 percent more than the price on June 26, before the Financial Times’ FT Alphaville reported on talks between the companies.

The total price is $4.6 billion including about $800 million in assumed debt, said Matthias Dachwald, a spokesman for Linde. The transaction will be paid for mainly with a $4.5 billion loan that will be refinanced through debt and equity issuances, Linde said. The company said it expects to complete the transaction in the third quarter.

Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Reitzle has identified health care as one of Linde’s growth areas and in January agreed to buy Air Products & Chemicals Inc.’s home-care business.

Analysts estimate Lincare sales will increase 10 percent this year to $2.04 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.