"Don't let the numbers go to your head." Nakayama Takuya cut off his daydream. "A doubling in the stock price means the ammunition in your hands has doubled."
Frank's laughter faded on the other end of the phone, and he waited for more.
"Launch a stock-swap acquisition plan," Nakayama Takuya ordered. "Keep your eyes on promising search-engine tech teams and content aggregation platforms. Use our overpriced stock to acquire them. Don't use cash."
"Understood. Buy assets with stock."
"What's Netscape doing?" Nakayama Takuya asked.
"Marc Andreessen gave an interview to Wired magazine. He's taking a swipe at us." Frank's tone was dismissive. "He said portal sites are just fancy directories, and that browsers are the cornerstone of the internet."
"Let him talk." Nakayama Takuya put down the report in his hand. "Microsoft's Internet Explorer 3.0 is about to be bundled with the next Windows 95 update. Netscape's troubles are still ahead."
"Do we need to hit them while they're down?"
"No need. Make sure go.com's compatibility is solid, and ensure our users can access it smoothly from any browser." Nakayama Takuya leaned back in his chair. "Also, speed up preparations for the Olympic special edition. On the day of the opening ceremony, I want to see half the internet users in the United States setting our homepage as their default start page."
"No problem. The editorial team has already doubled in size, and we're adding server nodes too."
"Go celebrate, Frank." Nakayama Takuya was about to hang up.
"Takuya," Frank called out to stop him. "Are you really not planning to come to California and take a look?"
"I'm at ease leaving internet matters to you." Nakayama Takuya hung up the phone.
Mid-June, New York.
On the electronic screen in the Nasdaq trading hall, the number after the ticker SVOL