is this significant in relation to NOR/BT tie-up rumours LONDON,...

is this significant in relation to NOR/BT tie-up rumours
LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) - Britain's BT BT.L has appointed Jan du Plessis, chairman of miner Rio Tinto (RIO) , as its next chairman, taking over from Mike Rake who has led the telecoms group for 10 years.
BT said on Thursday that du Plessis would join its board as a non-executive director on June 1, and become chairman on November 1.
Du Plessis has led Rio Tinto through a volatile period, as it scrambled to pay down $39 billion in debt from its Alcan takeover, scrapped a controversial tie-up with China's Chinalco, sacked a chief executive after the company made over-priced acquisitions and fended off a bid from Glencore GLEN.L .