PARIS (Reuters) -Airbus and Thales are considering merging their space activities, French business paper La Tribune reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources.

"The two groups have launched low-key discussions that are exploratory in nature, according to several sources," the paper said.

The companies did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.

Airbus Defence & Space, a unit of the European aviation conglomerate headquartered in Germany, employs well over 100,000 people and is one of the world's largest suppliers of the space industry.

Thales' Alenia Space unit, in which Italian arms maker Leonardo holds a minority stake, produces high-tech solutions for telecommunications, navigation and surveillance, mainly in the field of satellites.