BJ's Land a Buyout Lure

Using these cap rates and CB Richard Ellis data, TheStreet.com came up with a value of about $750 million for the 59 stores that BJ's owns -- and that's likely a conservative estimate.

This analysis uses a relatively low annual rent of $8.50 per square foot. CB Richard Ellis broker Greg Dalton says rents for new warehouse clubs typically range in the $10 to $15 per-square-foot range, per year. Old stores might see rents in the $7 to $9 range, he says. Higher rents would result in higher property valuations.

BJ's balance sheet lists the value of its land and buildings at $584 million before accumulated depreciation. (The company doesn't specifically break out the depreciation charges for the land and buildings, so it's hard to decipher the book value of these assets, which would be lower).

The company's stock isn't reflecting the true value of the company's real estate. On a sum-of-the-parts analysis, the company's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) estimate for next year would be $245 million after the sale of all real estate. That estimate subtracts additional annual rental expenses.

Over the past eight years, companies paid an average 10 times EBITDA on the 32 large merger and LBO transactions among retail stocks, according to A.G. Edwards.