Learn French: Le chef achète le concurrent dans le but d'obtenir le monopole. - The boss is buying the competitor with the aim of obtaining the monopoly.

While pour obtenir (in order to obtain) is perfectly correct and more common in daily speech, dans le but de is a more formal expression. It translates literally to "in the goal of" or "with the aim of," which fits the formal, strategic business context of this sentence.

Does dans le but de always have to be followed by an infinitive like obtenir?

It is followed by an infinitive when the subject performing both actions is the same (the boss buys, the boss obtains). It can also be followed directly by a noun, for example: dans le but d'un monopole (with the aim of a monopoly).

Could we use en vue de instead of dans le but de in this sentence?

Yes, you could say en vue d'obtenir le monopole. Both are formal expressions of purpose. Dans le but de strongly emphasizes the specific intention or goal, whereas en vue de translates closer to "with a view to" or "in preparation for," but in this context, they are virtually interchangeable.

Can le concurrent refer to an entire company, or just a person?

Both! While it literally means "the competitor" or "the rival" (as a person), in a business context, un concurrent is very commonly used to refer to a competing company or business entity.