Thales shares plummeted on the Paris Bourse on Friday morning, following the announcement of the opening of an investigation in the UK into alleged corruption.

At 10.10 a.m., the defense electronics group's shares plunged more than 6%, by far the biggest drop on a CAC 40 index down less than 0.1% at the same time.

On Friday, the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced that it had launched an investigation into the company, on suspicion of bribery.

In a brief press release, the SFO states that it is conducting its investigation in collaboration with the French Parquet National Financier (PNF) within their respective areas of jurisdiction.

While the exact nature of the investigation is not known, Nick Ephgrave, Director of the SFO, refers to "serious allegations" of irregularities.

It is difficult at this stage to quantify the financial risk associated with this news", commented analysts at Invest Securities in a note this morning.

"On the other hand, it should penalize the Group's image and create a factor of uncertainty in the short term", warned the brokerage firm.

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