The deal transfers all financial risks and liabilities to Paternoster and makes Emap's plans for a sell-off of its consumer magazines, radio and professional publishing divisions far more straightforward.
The pension schemes have assets of £170m, which includes an injection of £40m from Emap.
Ian Griffiths, finance director at Emap, said the company had decided to sell the schemes before it put the group up for auction in July, but said the move did remove a risk that could have disrupted a sale.
The deal is the biggest to date for Paternoster, which was set up specifically to perform pension buyouts, and will boost its pension assets to £750m.
Mark Wood, the founder of Paternoster, said that the transfer process of Emap's divisions could have dragged on for months, leaving new employers with the risk of potential liabilities.
Emap has told bidders to place final offers for its divisions by December 3. Its business publishing division is valued at around £1.3bn, consumer magazines, including FHM and Grazia at £600-£700m and broadcasting assets at around £400m.
Yesterday, Emap reported its pre-tax profits fell by 16% to £79.7m for the six months ending September 30, but the group said it was on track to meet its full-year performance expectations.
Reed Elsevier became the latest bidder to enter the race. The publishing giant is interested in acquiring some of Emap's B2B titles.
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