While the long-term, prospects of biotech are strong, it's not an easy business in light of the high capital costs and FDA compliance. The biotech industry is therefore making some changes by applying the concepts to new categories, such as energy.

Take a look at Range Fuels. The company has technologies that convert biomass (which includes waste materials and non-food sources) into fuel-grade ethanol. A key is that the process converts all the biomass into fuel (which means that there is less energy expended). The upshot is cellulosic fuel that is renewable and green.

Range Fuels is targeting a huge market opportunity. To get there, it has raised more than $100 million in a Series B round. The investors include Passport Capital, BlueMountain, Khosla Ventures, Leaf Clean Energy Company and PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund.

What's more, the valuation on the deal was healthy. According to the Private Equity Data Center, the post-money valuation on Range Fuels was about $276 million and the transaction had fairly "investor-friendly" terms.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.