The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of nebivolol and valsartan given as a free tablet combination in patient with stage 1 or stage 2 essential hypertension.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male or female outpatients of age 18 years or above
• Patients diagnosed with stage 1 or stage 2 essential hypertension
• Normal physical examination findings, electrocardiogram (ECG) results and chest x-ray; or abnormal findings judged by the Investigator to be not clinically significant

Exclusion Criteria:

• Secondary hypertension or severe hypertension
• Clinically significant cardiovascular disease or heart failure
• A medical contraindication to discontinuing a current antihypertensive therapy
• History of Type 1 diabetes mellitus