LONDON, March 14, 2008 (AFP) - The co-founder of US private equity giant the Carlyle Group said in an interview published Friday that his company was analysing ways in which to compensate investors in a failed investment fund.

David Rubenstein's interview with the Financial Times came a day after shares in Carlyle Capital Corp (CCC) closed with massive losses after it said negotiations with creditors to prevent its liquidation had been unsuccessful, and it defaulted on nearly 17 billion dollars (11 billion euros) of debt.

'We have stood behind our products in the past and we are working on ways to address the losses that are being suffered by investors,' Rubenstein told the business daily.

He added Carlyle was examining various legal issues to do with compensating CCC shareholders, as the fund was a separate legal entity to the Carlyle Group.

Shares in CCC closed on Thursday down 87.5 percent at 0.35 euros, taking total losses in the past week to 97 percent.

CCC is one of 55 funds managed by US-based Carlyle Group, one of the largest private equity firms in the world with some 80 billion dollars in assets.

Rubenstein said he did not think that 'one fund out of 60 will spoil a reputation built up over 20 years.'