Deutsche Telekom is examining a possible merger with French peer Orange, German business daily Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday.

A spokesman for Orange said “there are no ideas or discussions going on” regarding such an initiative, while Deutsche Telekom did not respond to an inquiry for a comment.

The newspaper said the German telecoms firm was assessing the potential of such tie-up as part of a strategic scenario, adding that the two companies had cooperated on purchases in the past eight years.

Joining forces in the telecommunications segment could help companies share the high costs related to the extended infrastructure required for the expansion of 5G networks.

Deutsche Telekom is Europe’s biggest telecommunications company with a market capitalization of about 72 billion euros ($79 billion). Orange is worth about 40 billion euros.