Greetings and welcome to today's edition of the Special Situation Investing News. I've taken some lumps on my REIT and MLP investments lately - I'm right, eventually Mr Market will agree with me :) - so I decided to cheer myself up by talking about a winning investment that I recently made that I believe still has a ton of upside. The company that I have done well with is called MRV Communications $MRVC. To say that this investment has been a winner would be an understatement. Just take a look at this chart: A three-month chart of $MRVC (blue) vs. the S&P 500 (red) (click to enlarge) Probably my favorite Seeking Alpha author, Dane Capital Management, recently published a new article on the company. MRV Communications: Expect 75% Upside, Potentially More In A Buyout https://seekingalpha.com/pro/checkout/3447366?noti... The piece is only available to Seeking Alpha Pro subscribers for the next day or two. If you are one, make sure to read the piece. If not, it's definitely worth your while to stop back after the embargo has been lifted. Here's the Cliff's Notes version of what's to like about MRV Communications: a successful activist investor, Raging Capital, has accumulated a massive 30% position in the company and is forcing changes, including selling its slow growth Network Integration business and rolling the proceeds as well as significant NOLs into significant share buybacks. And now for the rest of the news: Spinoffs Ventas Completes Spin-off of Pure-Play Skilled Nursing REIT Care Capital Properties, Inc. http://seekingalpha.com/pr/14432716-ventas-complet... Ventas Completes Capital Care Properties Spinoff; Spin Set To Join S&P Midcap 400 http://www.stockspinoffs.com/2015/08/18/ventas-com... . SPACs SPAC Weekly 8/17: Special Purpose Acquisition Corps 101 http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/08/spac-investments/ AgroFresh Solutions Provides Financial Results for the Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2015 http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201508180055... . Merger Arb Now this potential offer for $WMB is interesting. It includes $WPZ and while it's smaller, $SE is a much better company than $ETE. Spectra bidding for the entirety of Williams Cos - sources. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/14/us-willi... . Activist Investors Hedge funds add to pressure on Starwood Hotels & Resorts http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/85ce566a-4433-11e5-... John Paulson's hedge fund buys Starwood Hotels stake http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20150817/REAL... Activist Lakestreet Capital Partners Target UK's Menzies sets out case for keeping company united http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/18/john-men... This Week's Barron's 13D Column: http://online.barrons.com/articles/pershing-square... Dan Loeb's latest Japanese bet http://tmfdeej.whotrades.com/blog/43897939470 ValueAct falls into the Rolls-Royce trap http://tmfdeej.whotrades.com/blog/43674866621 Bulldog Investors Beaten Down By Hill International http://tmfdeej.whotrades.com/blog/43805542148 Nelson Peltz Latest Target http://tmfdeej.whotrades.com/blog/43920906393 Bill Ackman Follies In Pharma http://tmfdeej.whotrades.com/blog/43121012319 Engaged Capital active on Boulder Brands http://tmfdeej.whotrades.com/blog/43451793772 Bill Ackman And Nelson Peltz Together Again http://tmfdeej.whotrades.com/blog/43128667960 Ultratech Now An Activist Target http://tmfdeej.whotrades.com/blog/43028614997 Wynnefield Active At Omega Protein http://tmfdeej.whotrades.com/blog/43359396450 MagnaChip Semiconductor now has two activists http://tmfdeej.whotrades.com/blog/43228720923 Carl Icahn Takes Another Stab At Energy With Cheniere Energy http://seekingalpha.com/article/3448706-carl-icahn... 13F Insights From 2Q 2015 http://activiststocks.com/blog/hedge-fund-buys-2q1... Avis Budget Group $CAR Surges Higher as Activists Circle http://www.streetinsider.com/13Fs/Avis+Budget+Grou...+Surges+Higher+as+Activists+Circle/10821259.html . Investment Write-Ups Northland Capital Initiates Coverage on MRV Communications https://northland.bluematrix.com/sellside/EmailDoc... When Will Internap's Multiple Get Re-Rated? http://seekingalpha.com/article/3443376-when-will-... How Communications Sales & Leasing Inc. Lifted Windstream Holdings Inc. Out of a Deep Funk http://www.fool.com/investing/high-growth/2015/08/... MLPs Now Look Attractive Relative to Equities http://www.sl-advisors.com/mlps-now-look-attractiv... 5 MLPs With Big Disconnects Between Price and Prospects http://blogs.barrons.com/incomeinvesting/2015/08/1... Low Crude Prices Paying Off Huge For One MLP Sector. I like $CLMT. Crack spreads have been attractive. http://seekingalpha.com/article/3445756-low-crude-... Viacom: Value Trap? http://seekingalpha.com/article/3447856-viacom-val... Starboard Value Sees 100% Return Potential At MedAssets http://seekingalpha.com/article/3447516-starboard-... . Whale Watching Coho Capital Q2 letter & long thesis for Indian satellite television provider http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/08/coho-capital/ KKR Losses May Reach $5 Billion From Samson, Energy Future Busts http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-18/... Greenlight Capital Is Dead, Long Live Einhorn http://activiststocks.com/blog/david-einhorn-green... Lone Star Gets Contrarian With Superior Drilling Products http://seekingalpha.com/article/3447216-lone-star-... . Interest Rates The Federal Reserve Will Raise Rates By a Quarter Point in September http://tmfdeej.whotrades.com/blog/43757489782 Is a Grave Policy Error Coming Next Month? https://app.hedgeye.com/insights/45854-is-a-grave-... Guggenheim's Minerd: Global turmoil could push Treasury yields to 1% http://blogs.barrons.com/incomeinvesting/2015/08/1... . Other Investing News Insiders Buying: Hertz CEO, Others Buy $2.13M in Stock http://blogs.barrons.com/stockstowatchtoday/2015/0... AdCare Announces Favorable Modifications to Master Lease Agreement http://investor.adcarehealth.com/mobile.view?c=196... . If you've made it this far, I chances are that you've enjoyed the Special Situation Investing News. I put a tremendous amount of effort into finding all of the content that goes into it. It is available for free, however I ask that you post comments to keep it that way. I consistently get hundreds of page views, so I know that I'm not just tossing these posts into the black hole of the Internet never to be seen again :). Please scroll down and say hello, give your thoughts on an idea that I've mentioned, share a new special situation idea, anything. Thanks for reading. Have a great day! Jason aka @TMFDeej on Twitter