PROVIDNECE — The e-commerce software company BX.com Inc. plans to take advantage of the current economic downturn to acquire some of its weaker competitors’ client bases.

The privately-held Providence-based platform provider — which itself was forced to turn to the R.I. Economic Development Corporation to survive the dot-com crash of 2000 — has raised $25 million from unidentified investors in order to pursue acquisitions.

Ken Berquist, the BX.com executive vice president who built the acquisition fund, said the company has been raising the money throughout this year, and plans to focus on firms that either face bankruptcy or want to get out of the e-commerce business.

BX.com is not disclosing which firms it has its eye on, other than saying it wants e-commerce software companies “with a strong client base.” The acquired companies’ clients will have their software switched to BX.com’s platform, which is called pureCommerce.

“We will purchase their client base and create a clear migration path to ensure that their eCommerce clients do not experience any downtime,” BX.com’s president, Mark Shapiro, who is handing acquisition inquiries, said in a statement.