diff --git a/http.c b/http.c
index 0276aa942..d33b122cd 100644
--- a/http.c
+++ b/http.c
@@ -421,10 +421,8 @@ void http_init(struct remote *remote, const char *url, int proactive_auth)
 	}
 
 	curlm = curl_multi_init();
-	if (curlm == NULL) {
-		fprintf(stderr, "Error creating curl multi handle.\n");
-		exit(1);
-	}
+	if (!curlm)
+		die("curl_multi_init failed");
 #endif
 
 	if (getenv("GIT_SSL_NO_VERIFY"))