diff --git a/ivy/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/librarymanagement/ivyint/GigahorseUrlHandler.scala b/ivy/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/librarymanagement/ivyint/GigahorseUrlHandler.scala
index b8da74aab..e83f55177 100644
--- a/ivy/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/librarymanagement/ivyint/GigahorseUrlHandler.scala
+++ b/ivy/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/librarymanagement/ivyint/GigahorseUrlHandler.scala
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ class GigahorseUrlHandler extends AbstractURLHandler {
 
         if (checkStatusCode(url, response)) {
           val bodyCharset =
-            BasicURLHandler.getCharSetFromContentType(response.body().contentType().toString)
+            BasicURLHandler.getCharSetFromContentType(Option(response.body().contentType()).map(_.toString).orNull)
           Some(
             new SbtUrlInfo(true,
                            response.body().contentLength(),