Thales was the CAC 40's biggest decliner on Friday, after announcing the previous day that it was the target of an investigation in France and the UK for alleged corruption.

At 08:45 GMT, shares in the aerospace, defense and security equipment supplier were down 4.95% at 144.95 euros, while the CAC 40 was up 0.39% at the same time.

Since July, Thales has been the target of an investigation by the French National Financial Prosecutor's Office (Parquet national financier - PNF) on charges of bribery of a foreign public official, influence peddling by a foreign public official, receiving stolen goods and money laundering in connection with an arms contract awarded by the group in Asia, a judicial source said on Thursday.

In the UK, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said it had opened an investigation into suspicions of corruption and bribery.

Thales has confirmed the two investigations, which concern four of its entities in France and the UK, it said, claiming to be cooperating with the authorities.

"At this stage, the contract involved in the investigation remains unknown, making any potential risk assessment difficult. We expect Thales shares to be under pressure today as a result of this announcement", commented Jefferies analysts in a note.

(Written by Blandine Hénault, edited by Kate Entringer)